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UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


SCHOOL  OF  LAW 
LIBRARY 


,  ..R  24 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  A 
CONFERENCE  OF  GOVERNORS 


•  »> 


IN  THE  WHITE  HOUSE 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

MAY  13-15,  1908 


EDITED  UNDER  THE  DIRECTION  OF 

NEWTON  C.  BEANCHARD,  Chairman 
JOHN  FRANKEIN  FORT  JAMES  O.  DAVIDSON 

JOHN  C.  CUTEER  MARTIN  F.  ANSEE 

the  committee  of  governors 

By  W  J  McGEE 

RECORDING  SECRETARY  OF  THE  CONFERENCE 


PUBLISHED  BY  AUTHORITY  OF  CONGRESS 


Washington 

Government  Printing  Office 

1909 


Concurrent  Resolution  41,  Sixtieth  Congress,  first  session,  introduced  by  Hon.  Albert 
F.  Dawson  May  11,  1908  (Cong.  Rec,  p.  6109),  agreed  to  after  amendment  by  the 
House  of  Representatives  May  26  (Cong.  Rec,  p.  7009),  and  agreed  to  by  the  Senate 
May  27  (Cong.  Rec,  p.  7018): 

Resolved  by  the  House  of  Representatives  (the  Senate  concurring),  That 
there  be  printed  and  bound  fifty  thousand  copies  of  the  Proceedings 
of  the  Conference  of  the  Governors  of  the  States  and  Territories,  called 
by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  to  be  held  May  thirteenth,  four- 
teenth, and  fifteenth,  nineteen  hundred  and  eight,  to  consider  measures 
for  the  conservation  of  the  country's  natural  resources,  of  which  four- 
teen thousand  copies  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  Senate  and  twenty-six 
thousand  copies  for  the  use  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  ten 
thousand  copies  for  distribution  by  the  President  of  the  United  States. 


<m) 


ORIGIN  AND  PLAN  OF  THE  CONFERENCE 


The  idea  of  conserving  the  Nation's  resources  arose  partly  from  the 
recent  forestry  movement,  partly  from  the  still  more  recent  waterway 
movement. 

The  germ  of  the  idea  took  form  in  an  address  by  President  Roosevelt 
before  the  Society  of  American  Foresters  (of  which  he  was  and  is  an  asso- 
ciate member),  March  26,  1903.  In  expressions  indicating  perhaps  more 
clearly  than  any  of  earlier  date  the  interdependence  of  our  resources, 
he  said  to  the  forest  students: 

Your  attention  must  be  directed  to  the  preservation  of  the  forests, 
not  as  an  end  in  itself,  but  as  a  means  of  preserving  the  prosperity  of  the 
Nation.  *  *  *  In  the  arid  region  of  the  West  agriculture  depends 
first  of  all  upon  the  available  water  supply.  In  such  a  region  forest 
protection  alone  can  maintain  the  stream  flow  necessary  for  irrigation 
and  can  prevent  the  great  and  destructive  floods  so  ruinous  to  commu- 
nities farther  down  the  same  streams.  *  *  *  The  relation  between 
forests  and  the  whole  mineral  industry  is  an  extremely  intimate  one. 
The  very  existence  of  lumbering  *  *  *  depends  upon  the  success 
of  our  work  as  a  Nation  in  putting  practical  forestry  into  effective 
operation.  As  it  is  with  mining  and  lumbering,  so  it  is  in  only  a  less 
degree  with  transportation,  manufactures,  and  commerce  in  general. 
The  relation  of  all  these  industries  to  forestry  is  of  the  most  intimate 
and  dependent  kind. 

With  continued  development  of  the  forest  policy  the  interdependence 
of  woodlands  and  waterways  yearly  became  more  evident;  and  it  also 
became  increasingly  clear  that  both  woods  and  waters  are  in  their  indus- 
trial aspects  closely  related  not  only  to  mineral  production  and  the 
reclamation  of  arid  lands  but  to  all  agriculture  and  to  transportation. 

The  next  formal  expression  appeared  when  the  President,  in  response 
to  petitions  of  the  People  of  the  Interior,  appointed  the  Inland  Water- 
ways Commission.     In  the  letter  creating  the  Commission  he  declared : 

It  is  becoming  clear  that  our  streams  should  be  considered  and 
conserved  as  great  natural  resources.  *  *  *  The  time  has  come  for 
merging  local  projects  and  uses  of  the  inland  waters  in  a  comprehensive 
plan  designed  for  the  benefit  of  the  entire  country.  *  *  *  It  is 
not  possible  to  properly  frame  so  large  a  plan  *  *  *  without  tak- 
ing account  of  the  orderly  development  of  other  natural  resources.  There- 
fore, I  ask  that  the  Inland  Waterways  Commission  shall  consider  the 
relations  of  the  streams  to  the  use  of  all  the  great  permanent  natural 
resources  and  their  conservation  for  the  making  and  maintenance  of 
prosperous  homes. 

(v) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


While  the  foregoing  expressions  indicated  both  the  relations  among  the 
Nation's  resources  and  the  need  for  a  wider  utilization  of  them,  they  did 
little  more  than  forecast  a  National  duty.  Conservation  as  a  single 
problem  and  as  a  basis  for  National  policy  was  outlined  still  more  clearly 
in  the  President's  address  before  the  National  Editorial  Association  in 
:i.  Tune  10,  1907,  the  tenor  of  which  appears  in  the  following 

In  utilizing  and  conserving  the  natural  resources  of  the  Nation,  the 
one  characteristic  more  essential  than  any  other  is  foresight.     *     *     * 
Other  Nation  enjoys  so  wonderful  a  measure  of  present  prosperity, 
h  can  of  right  be  treated  as  an  earnest  of  future  success,  and  for 
no  other  are  the  rewards  of  foresight  so  great,  so  certain,  and  so  easily 
foretold.     Yet  hitherto  as  a  Nation  we  have  tended  to  live  with  an  eye 
le  to  the  present,  and  have  permitted  the  reckless  waste  and  destruc- 
tion of  much  of  our  National  wealth. 

Ti  servation  of  our  natural  resources  and  their  proper  use  con- 

stitute  the   fundamental   problem  which   underlies  almost  every  other 
>lem  of  our  National  life.     Unless  we  maintain  an  adequate  material 
for  our  civilization,  we  can  not  maintain  the  institutions  in  which 
:ake  so  great  and  so  just  a  pride;  and  to  waste  and  destroy  our  nat- 
ural n  S  means  to  undermine  these  material  bases.     *     *     * 

1  much  for  what  we  are  trying  to  do  in  utilizing  our  public  lands  for 

the  public;  in  securing  the  use  of  the  water,  the  forage,  the  coal,  and  the 

timber  for  the  public.     In  all  four  movements  my  chief  adviser,  and  the 

man  first  to  suggest  to  me  the  courses  which  have  actually  proved  so 

tlcia!,  was   Mr  Gifford  Pinchot,   the  Chief  of  the  National  Forest 

ice.     Mr  Pinchot  also  suggested  to  me  a  movement  supplementary 

til  of  these  movements,  one  which  will  itself  lead  the  way  in  the 

ement  which  he  represents  and  with  which  he  is  actively 

identified,  for  the  conservation  of  all  our  natural  resources.     This  was 

appointment  of   the   Inland  Waterways  Commission. 

n  Mav  1 4-2},  1907,  the  Inland  Waterways  Commission,  while  engaged 

in  an  inspection  trip  along  the  lower  Mississippi  at  high- water  stage, 

edly  discussed  the  policy  of  Conservation  in  its  bearing  on  the 

general   plan-  for  waterway  improvement  toward  which  they  were  at 

rk;    and  at   their  Fifteenth  Session,  on  May  21  (aboard  the  steamer 

Mississippi),  it  was  decided — subject  to  approval  by  the  President — to 

bold  a  conference  <>r  convention  in  Washington  during  the  ensuing  win- 

the  conservation  of  the  Nation's  resources.     Chairman 

Buitoi  formally  authorized  to  issue  to  the  press  a  brief  statement 

framed  by  Vice-Cnairmarj  Newlands,  and  (lie  chairman  and  Commissioner 

Pinchol  were  made  a  committee  to  convey  tin-  matter  "to  the  President 

ion  of  tin-  view  of  die  Commission,  leaving  him  to  decide 

In. -.v  the  call  shall  issue."     Soon    afterward  this  committee  conferred 

irmally  with  the  President,  and  received  his  sanction  for  arranging 


Origin  and  Plan  of  the  Conference 


During  ensuing  months  Commissioners  Newlands,  Pinchot,  Newell, 
and  McGee  met  on  the  Pacific  coast,  partly  for  the  purpose  of  examining 
waterways  and  partly  to  consider  and  arrange  details  of  the  proposed 
assembly.  Just  before  the  opening  of  the  Fifteenth  Session  of  the 
National  Irrigation  Congress  at  Sacramento,  early  in  September,  a 
preliminary  draft  of  programme  was  put  in  writing  and  sent  to  Chairman 
Burton.  This  draft  corresponded  closely  in  topics,  speakers,  and  other 
details  with  the  calendar  subsequently  adopted,  except  that  up  to  this 
time  the  conference  was  designed  primarily  as  one  of  experts  rather 
than  of  statesmen. 

At  Sacramento  it  was  learned  by  one  of  the  commissioners  present 
that  the  Lakes-to-Gulf  Deep  Waterway  Association,  then  arranging  for 
their  Memphis  convention,  expected  to  bring  together  a  score  or  more  of 
State  executives;  and  the  suggestion  was  offered  that,  if  the  five  Gov- 
ernors attending  the  Irrigation  Congress  should  approve,  it  might  be  well 
to  invite  the  State  executives  of  the  entire  country  to  take  part  in  the 
proposed  conference  in  Washington.  Senator  Newlands,  as  Vice-Chair- 
man of  the  Commission,  at  once  acted  on  the  suggestion  by  inviting 
Governors  Gillett,  Chamberlain,  Mead,  Cutler,  and  Kibbey  to  meet  the 
four  commissioners  present  and  discuss  the  matter.  All  accepted  except 
Governor  Gillett,  who  had  a  conflicting  engagement,  but  signified  general 
approval.  At  the  meeting  the  idea  of  Conservation  in  its  relations  to 
waterway  improvement  was  outlined,  together  with  the  plan  for  the 
conference  so  far  as  developed;  and  in  the  course  of  discussion  the 
further  idea  was  brought  out  more  clearly  than  before  that  the  State 
Governor  is  of  necessity  the  chief  sponsor  for  the  welfare  of  his  com- 
monwealth. Soon  as  suggested,  this  idea  modified  the  plan  for  the 
meeting,  and  led  to  the  decision  that  it  should  be  primarily  a  Conference 
of  Governors,  and  only  secondarily  a  meeting  of  experts  able  authori- 
tatively to  convey  information  both  to  the  Governors  and  to  the  Com- 
mission. The  four  Governors  present  signified  full  approval  of  the  plan 
and  the  determination  to  take  part  in  the  Conference,  Governor  Cham- 
berlain observing  that  he  had  already  contemplated  and  even  suggested 
meetings  of  Governors  for  the  discussion  of  interstate  questions. 

The  outcome  of  the  Sacramento  meeting  and  the  progress  in  the 
preparation  of  plans  for  the  Conference  were  informally  communicated 
to  the  President,  and  in  the  draft  of  his  Memphis  address  before  the 
Lakes-to-Gulf  Deep  Waterway  Association,  prepared  in  advance  for  the 
press,  he  incorporated  the  announcement  that  the  Inland  Waterways 
Commission  would,  with  his  full  approval,  call  a  Conference  of  Governors 
and  experts  on  the  conservation  of  natural  resources,  to  be  held  in  Wash- 
ington early  in  the  ensuing  winter.  The  announcement  in  this  form  was 
extensively  published  immediately  after  the  delivery  of  the  address  on 
October  4. 


(VII) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


Meantime  the  Commission  was  again  engaged  in  an  inspection  trip 
down  the  Mississippi  from  St.  Paul  to  Memphis  at  the  low-water  stage, 
in  which  the  President  took  part  October  1-4,  passing  from  Keokuk  to 
Memphis  amid  an  ovation  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  the  Interior. 
At  the  Twenty-third  Session  of  the  Commission,  on  October  3,  presided 
over  by  the  President,  it  was  decided  to  make  the  arrangements  for  the 
Conference  a  matter  of  record  through  a  formal  letter.  This  letter  was 
drafted  later  in  the  day;  and  out  of  consideration  for  the  score  of  Gov- 
ernors who  were  assembled  on  a  neighboring  vessel  as  guests  of  the 
Men's  League  of  St.  Louis,  the  Commissioners  met  them  on 
board  their  vessel  and  invited  them  to  join  in  the  request  to  the  Presi- 
dent that  he  authorize  and  formally  announce  the  Conference.  Through 
a  natural  delicacy,  several  of  the  Governors  expressed  the  feeling  that  it 
would  be  better  for  the  plan  to  originate  wholly  with  the  Commission; 
and  accordingly  on  the  morning  of  October  4  the  following  written 
communication  was  conveyed  to  the  President: 

October  3,  1907.' 
The  President, 

On  board  the  V.  S.  Steamer  Mississippi. 

Sir:  In  the  course  of  inquiries  made  under  your  direction  "that  the 
Inland  Waterways  Commission  shall  consider  the  relations  of  the  streams 
to  tlie  use  of  all  the  great  permanent  natural  resources  and  their  con- 
servation for  the  making  and  maintenance  of  prosperous  homes,"  the 
members  of  the  Commission  have  been  led  to  feel  that  it  would  be  desir- 
able to  hold  a  Conference  on  the  general  subject  of  the  conservation  of 
natural  resources  of  the  Nation. 

Among  the  reasons  for  such  a  Conference  are  the  following: 

1.  Hitherto  our  National  policy  has  been  one  of  almost  unrestricted 

1  of  natural  resources,  and  this  in  more  lavish  measure  than  in  any 
Other  nation  in  the  world's  history;  and  this  policy  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment has  been  shared  by  the  constituent  States.  Three  consequences 
ensued:  First,  unprecedented  consumption  of  natural  resources; 
:  !  <  haustion  of  these  resources,  to  the  extent  that  a  large  part  of 
our  available  public  lands  have  passed  into  great  estates  or  corporate 
inn  our  forests  are  so  far  depleted  as  to  mulitply  the  cost  of  forest 

I  our  supplies  of  coal  and  iron  ore  are  so  far  reduced  as  to 
enhance  pi  nd  third,  unequalled  opportunity  for  private  monopoly, 

■  nt  that  both  the  Federal  and  the  State  sovereignties  have  been 
compelli  '1  to  1  H-M't  laws  for  tin-  protection  of  the  People. 

2.  W  f  opinion  thai  the  time  has  come  for  considering  the  policy 

material   resources  on  which  the  permanent  pros- 

of  oin  country  and  the  equal  opportunity  <>f  all  our  1'eopu-  must 

1   opinion   that    the  policy  of  conservation  is  so 

!  an  ad  on  thai  policy  adopted  al  the  outset  of  our  National 

to  demand  the  con  [deration  of  both  Federal  and  State  sponsors 

;  1  he  People. 

3.  \  opinion  tliat   the  Conference  may  besl   be  held  in  the 
ional  Capita]  next  winter,  and  thai   the  conferees  should  comprise 

(VIII) 


Origin  and  Plan  of  the  Conference 


the  Governors  of  all  our  States  and  Territories,  a  limited  number  of 
delegates  to  be  appointed  by  each  Governor,  and  representatives  from 
leading  organizations  of  both  State  and  National  scope  engaged  in  dealing 
with  National  resources  or  with  practical  questions  relating  thereto. 

We  have  the  honor  to  ask  that  in  case  you  concur  in  our  view  you  call 
such  a  Conference. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

(Signed)  Theodore;  E.  Burton, 

Chairman. 
(Signed)  W  J  McGee, 

Secretary. 

On  receiving  the  communication,  the  President  not  merely  approved 
the  plan  but  decided  to  comply  fully  with  the  formal  request  of  the 
Commission  and  himself  call  the  Conference;  and  he  so  announced  in  his 
Memphis  address  delivered  later  in  the  day,  as  follows: 

As  I  have  said  elsewhere,  the  conservation  of  natural  resources  is  the 
fundamental  problem.  Unless  we  solve  that  problem  it  will  avail  us 
little  to  solve  all  others.  To  solve  it,  the  whole  nation  must  undertake 
the  task  through  their  organizations  and  associations,  through  the  men 
whom  they  have  made  specially  responsible  for  the  welfare  of  the  several 
States,  and  finally  through  Congress  and  the  Executive.  As  a  preliminary 
step,  the  Inland  Waterways  Commission  has  asked  me  to  call  a  conference 
on  the  conservation  of  natural  resources,  including,  of  course,  the  streams, 
to  meet  in  Washington  during  the  coming  winter.  I  shall  accordingly 
call  such  a  conference.  It  ought  to  be  among  the  most  important 
gatherings  in  our  history,  for  none  have  had  a  more  vital  question  to 
consider. 

At  the  Twenty-fifth  Session  of  the  Commission,  convened  on  October  5, 
a  Conference  Committee  was  appointed  "to  confer  with  the  President 
and  take  requisite  action  in  conformity  with  his  wishes"  regarding 
arrangements;  the  Committee  comprising  Commissioners  Pinchot  (chair- 
man), Newell,  and  McGee.  About  this  time  it  was  decided,  at  the 
instance  of  Commissioner  Newell,  to  recommend  to  the  President  that 
the  Conference  be  held  in  the  East  Room  of  the  White  House;  and  the 
recommendation  was  promptly  approved.  This  Conference  Committee 
kept  in  communication  with  the  President,  and  reported  progress  at 
several  sessions  of  the  Commission. 

In  November,  the  President  wrote  each  Governor,  inviting  him  to 
take  part  in  the  Conference;  one  of  the  letters  being  as  follows: 

My  Dear  Governor:  The  natural  resources  of  the  United  States  were, 
at  the  time  of  settlement,  richer,  more  varied,  and  more  available  than 
those  of  any  other  equal  area  on  the  earth.  The  development  of  these 
resources  has  given  us  for  more  than  a  century  a  rate  of  increase  of 
population  and  wealth  without  parallel  in  history.  It  is  obvious  that 
the  prosperity  which  we  now  enjoy  rests  directly  upon  these  resources. 
It  is  equally  obvious  that  the  vigor  and  success  which  we  desire  and 

(IX) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


foresee  for  this  nation  in  the  future  must  have  this  as  its  ultimate  material 
bas 

In  view  of  i  ident  facts,  it  seems  to  me  time  for  the  country  to 

take  account  of  its  natural  resources  and  to  inquire  how  long  they  are 

likely  I  We  are  prosperous  now;  we  should  not  forget  that  it  will 

important  to  our  descendants  to  be  prosperous  in  their  time. 

Recently  I  declared  there  is  no  other  question  now  before  the  nation  of 
itv  with  the  question  of  the  conservation  of  our  natural 
and  I  added  that  it  is  the  plain  duty  of  us  who,  for  the  moment, 
are  responsible  to  take  inventory  of  the  natural  resources  which  have 
been  handed  down  to  us,  to  forecast  the  needs  of  the  future,  and  so  handle 
the  great  sources  of  our  prosperity  as  not  to  destroy  in  advance  all  hope 
of  the  prosperity  of  our  descendants. 

It  is  evident  the  abundant  natural  resources  on  which  the  welfare  of 
this  nation  rests  are  becoming  depleted,  and,  in  not  a  few  cases,  are  already 
exhausted.  This  is  true  of  all  portions  of  the  United  States;  it  is  espe- 
cially true  of  the  longer  settled  communities  of  the  East. 

The  gravity  of  the  situation  must,  I  believe,  appeal  with  special  force 
to  the  Governors  of  the  States,  because  of  their  close  relations  to  the 
•ile  and  the  responsibility  for  the  welfare  of  their  communities.  I 
have  therefore  decided,  in  accordance  with  the  suggestion  of  the  Inland 
Waterways  Commission,  to  ask  the  Governors  of  the  States  and  Terri- 
tories to  meet  at  the  White  House  on  May  13,  14,  and  15  to  confer  with 
the   President  and  with  each  other  upon  the  conservation  of  natural 

It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  invite  you  to  take  part  in  this  Conference. 
!  should  be  glad  to  have  you  select  three  citizens  to  accompany  you  and 
1 11  end   the  Conference  as  your  assistants  or  advisers.     I  shall  also 
invite  the  Senators  and  Representatives  of  the  Sixtieth  Congress  to  be 
ent  at  the  sessions  so  far  as  their  duties  will  permit. 
The  matters  to  be  considered  at  this  conference  are  not  confined  to 
region  or  group  of  States,  but  are  of  vital  concern  to  the  Nation  as  a 
whole  and  to  all  the  people.     Those  subjects  include  the  use  and  conserva- 
tion of  the  mineral  resources,  the  resources  of  the  land,  and  the  resources 
of  the  waters  in  every  part  of  our  territory. 

In  order  to  open  discussion,  I  shall  invite  a  few  recognized  authorities 

present    brief  descriptions  of  actual  facts  and  conditions,  without 

inn  ni ,  leaving  the  conference  to  deal  with  each  topic  as  it  may  elect. 

The  members  of  the  Inland  Waterways  Commission  will  be  present  in 

order  to  share  with  me  the  benefit  of  information  and  suggestion,  and,  if 

desired,  to  rth  their  provisional  plans  and  conclusions. 

icts,  which  I  can  not  gainsay,  force  me  to  believe  that  the  conserva- 
tion of  our  natural  resources  is  the  most  weighty  question  now  before  the 
pie  Of  the  United  States.      If  this  is  so,  the  proposed  conference,  which 
kind,  will  be  among  the  most  important  gatherings  in 
OUT  history  in  ii  upon  the  welfare  of  all  our  people. 

I  earnestly  hope,  my  dear  Governor,  that  you  will  find  it  possible  to  be 

• 

(Signed)  Theodore  Roosbvei/t. 


Origin  and  Plan  of  the  Conference 


All  the  Governors  of  the  States  and  Territories  accepted,  a  few  condi- 
tionally on  grounds  of  health  or  pressure  of  public  affairs. 

In  December  and  later  the  President  issued  invitations  to  organizations 
dealing  with  natural  resources,  which  were  generally  accepted.  One  of 
these  was  as  follows : 

My  Dear  Sir:  Recently  I  invited  the  Governors  of  the  States  and 

Territories  to  meet  in  the  White  House  on  May  13-15  next  in  a  Confer- 

(  ence  on  the  Conservation  of  Natural  Resources.     In  issuing  the  invitation, 

'  I  expressed  the  opinion  that  there  is  urgent  need  of  taking  stock  of  our 

resources,  and  I  added  my  belief  that  the  Conference  ought  to  take  rank 

among  the  more  important  meetings  in  the  history  of  the  country. 

The  replies  to  the  invitation  have  been  most  gratifying.  They  indicate 
that  practically  all  of  the  Governors,  each  with  three  special  advisers, 
will  attend  the  Conference.  The  Senators  and  Representatives  of  the 
Sixtieth  Congress,  the  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  the  members 
of  the  Cabinet  have  also  been  invited  to  take  part;  and  the  Inland 
Waterways  Commission,  which  suggested  the  Conference,  will  be  present 
to  reply  to  inquiries  and  make  record  of  the  Proceedings.  A  limited 
number  of  leading  associations  of  national  scope  concerned  with  our 
natural  resources  will  be  invited  to  send  one  representative  each  to 
take  part  in  the  discussions.  The  general  purpose  of  the  Conference  is 
indicated  on  pages  24-26  of  the  preliminary  report  of  the  Waterways 
Commission,  of  which  a  copy  is  inclosed. 

I  invite  the  cooperation  of  the  American  Society  of  Mechanical  Engi- 
neers in  bringing  this  matter  before  the  people;  and  it  gives  me  added 
pleasure  to  invite  you  as  President  of  the  Society  to  take  part  in  the 
Conference. 

Sincerely  yours, 

(Signed)         Theodore  Roosevelt. 

Meantime  correspondence  was  conducted  with  experts  by  the  President 
or  his  Secretary,  and  also  by  the  Conference  Committee;  and  a  Syllabus 
was  prepared  for  the  guidance  of  experts  in  the  preparation  of  opening 
statements.     This  Syllabus  is  printed  on  later  pages. 

In  the  course  of  the  correspondence,  the  President  invited  as  special 
guests  five  eminent  citizens  widely  recognized  as  authorities  on  national 
aspects  of  the  resources  of  the  country. 

As  the  plans  for  the  Conference  grew  definite,  early  in  the  correspond- 
ence, and  it  became  clear  that  the  statements  and  deliberations  of  the 
Governors  and  other  Conferees  might  assume  such  importance  as  to  be 
of  interest  to  the  coordinate  branches  of  the  Federal  Government,  the 
Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  and  the  Senators  and  Representatives  of 
the  Sixtieth  Congress  were  invited  by  the  President  to  take  part.  Similar 
invitations  were  extended  also  to  members  of  the  Cabinet. 

Throughout  it  was  planned  to  provide  for  press  attendance  in  the 
interests  of  the  public  and  to  prevent  possible  misapprehension  of  pur- 
pose; and  as  the  time  for  the  Conference  approached  it  was  decided  to 

(XI) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


invite  representatives  of  the  periodical  press  as  well  as  the  daily  press. 
The  former,  coming  from  different  parts  of  the  country,  were  personally 
invited  by  the  President,  after  selection  by  the  Periodical  Publishers 
Association ;  the  latter  (forty  in  number)  were  selected  by  the  managing 
committee  of  the  Congressional  Press  Gallery  from  the  Washington  rep- 
resentatives of  the  leading  papers  and  entered  on  personal  recognition 
and  press  badges,  under  regulations  of  their  committee. 

Finally,  toward  the  end  of  April,  a  limited  number  of  bureau  chiefs 
and  other  experts  of  national  reputation  connected  with  the  Federal 
service  wen-  invited  by  the  President  to  take  part  in  the  Conference; 
and  these  invitations,  like  all  others,  were  generally  accepted. 

Earlv  in  May  the  Calendar  of  the  Conference  was  prepared,  chiefly  for 

the  convenience  of  the  Governors  and  subject  to  change  by  them  after 

mbling;  in  its  final  form  it  is  reprinted  on  later  pages.     Although 

not  designed  as  a  fixed  programme,  its  order  was  found  convenient  and 

followed  somewhat  closely,  except  on  the  last  day  of  the  Conference. 

The  Conference  Committee  kept  in  close  touch  with  the  arrangements, 
including  provision  for  the  safety  of  the  unprecedented  assemblage  of 
public  officials;  they  were  aided  efficiently  by  Mr  Thomas  R.  Shipp, 
who  was  made  General  Secretary  of  the  Conference,  the  Secretary  of  the 
Commission  acting  as  Recording  Secretary.  (During  the  second  session, 
Governor  John  Burke,  of  North  Dakota,  was  chosen  Honorary  Secretary.) 

A  few  Governors  were  kept  away  by  illness  or  special  pressure  of  public 
business.  As  the  date  for  the  Conference  approached  there  were  a  num- 
ber of  changes  among  the  Governors'  advisors,  with  a  few  among  the 
representatives  of  organizations;  while  of  the  five  special  guests  invited 
by  the  President,  one — Ex-President  Cleveland — was  confined  to  his 
honu-  by  illness  which  soon  after  proved  fatal. 

The  Roster  on  later  pages  comprises  the  Conferees  (including  Governors 
prevented  by  illness  or  public  duty  from  appearing  in  person),  arranged 
The  half-tone  engraving  following  it  represents  the  Gover- 
nors present  at  noon  of  May  13,  with  several    other  guests.     A  photo- 
gravure representing  all  the  Conferees  was  prepared  with  the  consent 
he  Conference  Committee,  but  is  not  reproduced  herein.      W  J  M. 


SYLLABUS 

mineral  resources- 
mineral  Fuels: 

a.  Coal  fields  of  the  United  States,  including  (i)  extent,  (2)  varieties,  (3) 

amount,  (4)  production,  and  (5)  value. 

b.  Methods  of  mining. 

c.  Rates  of  use  and  probable  duration  of  (1)  anthracite,  (2)  coking  bitumi- 

nous, (3)  ordinary  bituminous,  (4)  lignite,  and  (5)  cannel  coal. 

d.  Losses  in  mining  and  waste  in  use  in  connection  with  power,  heating, 

smelting,  and  gas  production. 

e.  Estimated  duration  of  present  methods  of  mining  and  use,  classed  by 

kinds  and  fields. 

/.  Influence  of  progressive  exhaustion  on  current  prices. 

g.  Improvements  in  mining  and  use,  and  their  estimated  effects  in  pro- 
longing supply. 

h.  Connection  between  coal  production  and  transportation,  including  (1) 
price,  (2)  rate  of  output,  and  (3)  exhaustion  of  fields. 

i.  Relation  between  coal  and  other  resources,  including  (1)  substitution  of 
water-power  for  fuel-power,  (2)  saving  (in  both  power  and  smelting) 
through  substitution  of  water  carriage  for  rail  carriage,  and  (3)  saving 
through  substitution  of  gas  motors  for  steam-engines. 

;'.  Petroleum  and  rock  gas. 

k.  Possible  substitutes  for  fuel. 
Ores  and  Related  Minerals: 

o.  Mineral  production  in  the  United  States,  including  (1)  iron,  (2)  copper, 
(3)  gold,  (4)  silver,  (5)  other  metals,  (6)  cement,  (7)  brick-clay,  (8) 
stone,  and  (9)  miscellaneous. 

b.  Relation  between  production  and  price. 

c.  Estimates  of  (1)  available  quantity,   (2)  prospective  cost  of  production 

and  price,  and  (3)  duration  of  supply. 

d.  Processes  of  mining  and  quarrying,  including  (1)  growth  and  improve- 

ment, (2)  prospective  improvement,  and  (3)  possibilities  of  reducing 
waste. 

e.  Relation  between  ores  and  other  resources. 

/.  Probable  consequences  of  exhaustion  of  standard  minerals,  including 
(1)  iron,  (2)  copper,  and  (3)  gold. 

land  resources- 
Soil: 

a.  Origin  of  the  soil  and  its  relations  to  underlying  rocks. 

b.  Natural  products  of  the  soil  and  adjustment  of  soil  and  products  to  rains 

and  running  waters. 

c.  Progressive  enrichment  of  soils  under  natural  conditions. 

d.  Effects  of  cultivation  in  (1)  impoverishing  and  (2)  enriching  soils. 

e.  Soil  erosion,  including  (1)  amount,  (2)  direct  loss  involved,  (3)  indirect 

losses  due  to  scouring  of  channels,  deposition  of  debris  on  bottom- 
lands, building  of  sand  bars,  diversion  of  streams,  and  (4)  means  of 
prevention. 
/.  General  estimates  of  loss  to  the  country  through  needlessly  reduced  fer- 
tility and  decreased  production. 

N 


Proceed  in  lis  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


LAND  RESOURCES— Continued. 

Fc: 

Extent  of  primeval  woodlands  in  the  United  States. 

b.  Early  use  and  destruction,  when  forests  were  regarded  as  obstructions 

to  settlement. 

and  destruction  with  increasing  settlement,  including  losses  by  (i) 

waste  and  (2)  fires. 
d    Present  extent  and  value  of  forests. 

Rate  of  o  insumption  and  increasing  cost  of  and  demand  for  forest  products. 
/.   Estimated  duration  of  forests  and  prospective  prices  of  forest  products. 
g.  Relations   between   forests   and   other   resources,    including    (1)    mineral 

fuels,  (2)  iron   and    copper,  (3)  building   stone,   brick-clay,   cement 

materials,  etc. 
h.  Direct  influence  of  forests  on  (1)  soil  and  mulch,   (2)  stream-flow,   (3) 
ground  water  and  springs,  and  (4)  the  clarity  and  purity  of  rivers. 
».  Direct  influence  of  forests  on  (1)  floods  and  low  waters,  (2)  power,  and 

(3)  community  water  supply. 
;'.  Indirect  influence  of  forests  on  waterway  improvement  and  navigation. 
k.  1  between  forest  control  and  (1)  crop  production,  (2)  commerce, 

and  (3)  population. 

..nitation: 

a.  Development  of  systems  of  community  water  supply,  (1)  past,  and  (2) 
present. 
Methods  and  extent  of  the  securing  of  community  water  supply  in  this 
and  other  countries. 

c.  Relation  between  purity  and  clarity  of  water  for  community  supply. 

d.  Mortality  and  disease  due  to  impure  water  supply,  with  estimated  loss 

communities  and  the  country. 
Diminution  in  rate  of  increase  in  population  and  production  by  reason 
of  impure  water  supply  for  communities. 
/'.   Increase  in  loss  from  impure  water  supply  attending  growth  in  popula- 
tion and  industries. 
g.   Action  required  in  the  interests  of  the  public  health. 

;\tion: 
a.   Extent  of  arid  and  semi-arid  regions. 

merit    of   irrigation,    (1)    private   and   corporate,    (2)   State,   and 
National. 
c.    I  lion,  (1)  present,  and  (2)  prospective. 

1       a th  of  concepts  concerning  water  rights  and  water  as  a  basis  of 
property. 

I  irrigation  on  (1)  production,  (2)  commerce,  and  (3)  popula- 
tion. 

1  the  consumption  of  water  and  other  resources. 
g.  I  i  control  by  drains 

h.  mp  :mk1   overflow   lands  and   increased   value  available  by 

:,  and  flood  prevention. 
i.Infiu  ;  drainage  and  flood  prevention  on  navigation,  production, 

■ul.ii  ion 

ian«l  disposal. 

nartei  ,  by  Bpei  ial  p        .  and  otherwise 

rv) 


Syllabus  for  the  Conference 


LAND  RESOURCES— Continued. 
Land  Laws — Continued. 

c.  Development  of  land  laws,   through   (i)   squatter  sovereignty,   (2)   land 

surveys,  (3)  entry,  (4)  homesteading,  (5)  timber  claim,  (6)  stone  and 
mineral  claim,  etc. 

d.  Effect  of  special  land  laws  on  settlement,  production,  and  population, 

including  (1)  war  and  other  land  scrip,  (2)  railway  and  other  land 
grants,  (3)  the  lieu  land  law,  (4)  timber  and  stone  act,  etc. 

e.  Effect  of  creation  of  national  forests,  parks,  and  other  reserves. 

/.  Tendency  toward  large  holdings  and  their  influence  on  production  and 

population. 
g.  Relative  benefits  of  tenantry  and  freehold  systems. 
h.  Advantages  of  making  this  a  nation  of  homes  and  home  owners. 
i.  State  and  Federal  action  required. 
;*.  Prospective  influence  on  production,  commerce,  and  the  conservation  of 

resources. 

Grazing  and  Stock  Raising: 

a.  Development  of  grazing  and  stock  raising  in  the  United  States,  including 

(1)  home  pasturing,  (2)  breeding,  and  (3)  herding. 

b.  Extent  and  value  of  the  industries. 

c.  Grazing  in  the  arid  and  semi-arid  regions,  considered  with  reference  to 

stock,  including  (1)  cattle,  (2)  sheep,  (3)  goats,  (4)  horses  and  mules, 
and  (5)  miscellaneous  stock. 

d.  Methods  and  results,  including  (1)  selection  of  stock,  (2)  breeding,  (3) 

handling,  and  (4)  marketing,  with  (5)  capital,  (6)  prices,  and  (7) 
profits  and  losses. 

e.  Bearing  of  land  laws  on  stock  industries. 

/.  Comparative  cost  and  profit  of  grazing  and  other  industries  in  different 
regions. 

g.  Influence  of  stock  raising  on  (1)  pasturage,  (2)  conservation  of  soil,  (3) 
growth  and  use  of  forests,  (4)  farming,  (5)  prevention  of  floods  and 
maintenance  of  stream  flow,  and  (6)  rate  of  settlement. 

h.  Relation  between  stock  raising  and  commerce. 

WATER   RESOURCES- 
RELATIONS  between  Rail  and  Water  Transportation: 
o.  Growth  of  transportation  in  the  United  States. 

b.  Rail  transportation,   including  (1)   number,  distribution,  and  extent  of 

systems,  (2)  cost  and  present  value,  (3)  traffic  and  earnings,  (4) 
capacity,  (5)  prospective  capacity  required  in  different  sections,  (6) 
estimated  cost  of  increasing  railways  to  meet  prospective  require- 
ments, and  (7)  estimated  prospective  cost  of  traffic. 

c.  Water  transportation,  including  (1)  general  statement  of  present  facili- 

ties, (2)  cost  of  water  traffic,  (3)  pressing  lines  of  development,  and 
(4)  influence  of  water  traffic  on  rail  traffic. 

d.  Terminals  and  their  control. 

e.  Relations  between  railway  agencies  and  waterway  agencies,  including  (1) 

competition,  (2)  cooperation,  and  (3)  regulation  by  business  interests 
or  by  law. 

/.  Necessity  for  waterway  development  to  meet  transportation  require- 
ments, as  viewed  by  railway  interests. 

g.  Influence  of  cheapened  transportation  on  production. 


(xv) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


WATER  RESOURCES— Continued. 
Navigation: 

a.  Development  of  navigation  in  the  United  States,  including  (i)  navigation 

and  commerce  on  rivers,  bays,  and  lakes,  (2)  canal  navigation  and 
commerce,  and  (3)  maritime  commerce. 

b.  Present  water  transportation  systems. 

c.  Cost  of  water  transportation,  absolute  and  relative. 

d.  Modern  decline  of  water  transportation. 

e.  Utilization  of  waterways  for  (1)  navigation,   (2)  power,  (3)  community 

supply,  and  (4)  irrigation. 
/'.   Inlluence  of  navigation  on  production  and  the  use  of  other  resources, 
including  (1)  reduced  consumption  of  coal  and  wood,  (2)  reduced  con- 
sumption of  iron,   and   (3)   increased  production  of  crops  through 
cheapened  traffic. 
Powuk: 

a.  Development  of  the  use  of  water  power,  including  (1)  local  use  of  small 

streams,   (2)  local  use  of  large  streams,  and   (3)  extension  and  use 
through  electric  transmission. 

b.  Applications  of  power,   in    (1)    milling,    (2)   general   manufacturing,    (3) 

lighting  and  heating,  and  (4)  propulsion. 

c.  Amount  and  cost  of  power  in  use  in  the  United  States,  including  (1)  fuel- 

er,  (2)  water  power,  and  (3)  power  from  other  sources. 

d.  Rate  of  increase  in  the  use  of  power,  (1)  past,  and  (2)  prospective. 

e.  Current  and  prospective  electrification  of  railways,  including  (1)  cost  of 

substitution,  and  (2)  economy  of  operation. 
/.   Electric  propulsion  of  water  craft. 
g.   Applicability    of    electrically    transmitted    power    for    shifting    cargoes, 

operating  terminals,  etc. 
h.  Use  of  water  power  on  electrified  railways,  including  estimates  of  (1)  cost 

of  application,  (2)  economy  of  operation,  (3)  saving  in  consumption  of 

fuel,  (4)  saving  in  traffic,  and  (5)  saving  in  plant,  trackage,  and  rolling 
.'k. 
t.   Influence  of  the  utilization  of  water  power  directly  on  the  consumption  of 

fuels  and  indirectly  on  the  consumption  of  iron,  copper,  and  other 

resources. 
;.   Estimated  amount  and  cost  of  development  of  water  power  in  the  United 

States. 

3ERVATION   AS  A  NATIONAL  POLICY— 
Unity  "f  American  interests. 
I'.    Interdependence  <>f  industries,  especially  (1)  production  (2)  manufactures, 
and  (3)  commerce,  including  transportation. 
Natural  :'  national  development,  (1)  past,  and  (2)  prospective. 

i  of  future  population,  production,  commerce,  and  wealth,  in  the 
lighl  01  international  and  historical  relations. 


(XVI) 


CALENDAR 


This  is  primarily  a  conference  of  the  Governors  of  the  United  States.  In  the 
interests  of  convenience,  sessions  have  been  arranged;  and  to  bring  out  facts  relating 
to  the  leading  resources  and  start  discussion  along  useful  lines,  the  sessions  will  be 
opened  with  brief  formal  statements,  limited  to  twenty  minutes  each.  It  is  suggested 
that  discussion  be  withheld  at  each  session  until  the  opening  statements  have  been 
completed;  and  that  the  first  opportunity  for  discussion  be  accorded  to  the  Governors 
present. 

MAY   12 

7.45  p.  m. — Meeting  of  the  Governors  and  special  guests  with  the  President  at  dinner 
in  the  White  House. 

MAY  13 

10.00  a.  m. — Assembling  of  Governors  and  their  Advisors  with  other  Conferees  in  the 
East  Room. 

11.00  a.  m. — Address  by  the  President: 

Conservation  as  a  National  Duty. 

2.30  p.  m. — Session  on  Mineral  Resources 

Opening  Statements: 

The  Conservation  of  Ores  and  Related  Minerals,  by  Andrew  Carnegie 
The  Waste  of  Our  Fuel  Resources,  by  Dr  I.  C.  White. 
General  Discussion,  opened  by  John  Mitchell. 

7.30  p.  m. — Meeting  of  Governors  as  guests  of  the  Washington  Board  of  Trade  at 
dinner  in  the  New  Willard  Hotel. 

MAY   14 

10  00  a.  m. — Session  on  Land  Resources. 
Opening  Statements: 

The  Natural  Wealth  of  the  Land  and  its  Conservation,  by  James  J. 

Hill. 
Soil  Wastage,  by  Professor  T.  C.  Chamberlain. 
Forest  Conservation,  by  R.  A.  Long 
General  Discussion. 

2.30  p.  m. — Session  on  Land  Resources. 

Opening  Statements: 

Resources  related  to  Irrigation,  by  Ex-Governor  George  C.  Pardee 
Grazing  and  Stock  Raising,  by  Hon.  H.  A.  Jastro. 
General  Discussion,  opened  by  Ex-Senator  Carey. 

9.00  p.  m. — Reception  to  meet  the  Governors  and  the  Inland  Waterways  Commission 
at  the  residence  of  Mr  GilTord  Pinchot,  1615  Rhode  Island  Avenue. 

(xvn) 
56254 — 09 2 


ceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

MAY   15 

10.00  a.  m  on  Water  Resources. 

Opening  Statements: 

Conservation  of  Life  and  Health  by  Improved  Water  Supply,  by 

Dr  George  M.  Kober. 
Navigation  Resources  of  American  Waterways,  by  Professor  EmoryR. 

Johnson. 
Conservation  of  Power  Resources,  by  H.  S.  Putnam 
General  Discussion. 

2.30  p.  m. — Geni  ~i« >n. 

4.00  p.  m. — Mr?  Roosevelt's  Garden  Party  to  the  members  of   the  Conference  and 
their  ladies,  in  the  White  House  grounds. 


(xvin) 


ROSTKR 


President 
Hon.  Theodore  Roosevelt. 

Vice-President 
Hon.  Charles  W.  Fairbanks. 

Cabinet0 

Hon.  Elihu  Root,  Secretary  of  State. 

Hon.  George  B.  Cortelyou,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

Hon.  Charles  J.  Bonaparte,  Attorney-General. 

Hon.  George  von  L.  Meyer,  Postmaster-General. 

Hon.  James  R.  Garfield,  Secretary  of  the  Interior. 

Hon.  James  Wilson,  Secretary  of  Agriculture. 

Hon.  Oscar  S.  Straus,  Secretary  of  Commerce  and  Labor. 

Supreme  Court 

Mr  Chief  Justice  Fuller. 
Mr  Justice  Harlan. 
Mr  Justice  Brewer. 
Mr  Justice  White. 
Mr  Ju'stice  Peckham. 
Mr  Justice  McKenna. 
Mr  Justice  Holmes. 
Mr  Justice  Day. 
Mr  Justice  Moody. 

The  Congress6 

Governors  and  their  Advisors 
Alabama : 

Governor  B.  B.  Comer. 

Hon.  R.  M.  Goodall,  Birmingham. 
Hon.  F.  M.  Jackson,  Birmingham. 
Hon.  W.  F.  Tebbetts,  Mobile. 

o  Hon.  William  H.  Taft,  Secretary  of  War,  was  in  Panama  on  emergency  duty,  and 
Hon.  Victor  H.  Metcalf,  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  was  on  the  Pacific  coast  in  connection 
with  the  special  movement  of  the  American  Battle-ship  Fleet. 

b  Each  Senator  and  Representative  in  the  Sixtieth  Congress,  first  session,  was 
invited  to  the  Conference,  and  most  accepted,  subject  to  public  demands  in  the  session 
then  drawing  to  a  close;  many  were  in  attendance  at  each  session,  being  received 
specially  and  ushered  into  the  East  Room  by  a  Doorkeeper  of  the  House. 


(xix) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


Alaska  I  Territory  of): 

Governor  Wilford  B.  Hoggatt. 

Major  W.  P.  Richardson,  U.  S.  Army,  Skagway. 
Mr  Stephen  Birch,  Valdez. 
Arizona  (Territory  of) : 

('.ovcrnor  Joseph  H.  Kibbey. 

Hon.  B.  A.  Fowler,  Phoenix. 
Hon.  Dwight  B.  Heard,  Phoenix. 
Hon.  W.  F.  Nichols,  Willcox. 
Arkansas: 

Acting  Governor  X.  O.  Pindall. 

Mr  II.  M.  Armistead,  Little  Rock. 
Mr  H.  L.  Ponder,  Walnut  Ridge. 
Mr  Sid  B.  Redding,  Little  Rock. 
California: 

Governor  James  N.  Gillett  (absent). 

Mr  Arthur  R.  Briggs,  San  Francisco 
Mr  Frank  H.  Short,  Fresno. 
Colorado : 

Governor  Henry  A.  Buchtel. 

Hon.  Earle  M.  Cranston,  Denver. 
Mr  William  L.  Hartman,  Pueblo. 
Mr  Thomas  W.  Jaycox,  Leadville. 
Columbia  (District  of): 

Hon.  H.  B.  F.  Macfarland,  President,  Board  of  Commissioners. 
Connecticut: 

Governor  Rollin  S.  Woodruff. 

Hon.  Charles  Hopkins  Clark,  Hartford. 
Dr  Arthur  T.  Hadley,  New  Haven. 
Colonel  Norris  G.  Osborn,  New  Haven. 
Delaware: 

ernor  Preston  Lea. 

Judge  George  C.ray,  Wilmington. 
Mr  Benjamin  Nields,  Wilmington. 

Hon.  Janus  Pennewill,  Dover. 
Florida: 

tvernoi  Napoleon  B.  Broward  (absent). 
Mr  George  l\  Miles,  Si.  Augustine. 

Oator  \V.  1 1.  Milton,  Mariana. 

Mr  !•'..  II.  Sellards,  Tallahassee. 

nor  I  l'»i:'-  Smith  (absent ). 
Mr  John  II.  Finney,  Atlanta. 
Mi  Carleton  B.  Gibson.  Columbus. 


Roster  of  the  Conference 


Hawaii  (Territory  of)  : 

Governor  Walter  F.  Frear. 

Mr  Alonzo  Gartley. 

Mr  Ralph  S.  Hosmer. 

Mr  William  O.  Smith. 
Idaho: 

Governor  Frank  R.  Gooding. 

Hon.  Fentress  W.  Hill,  Twin  Falls. 

Hon.  H.  M.  Hoover,  Boise. 

T11.     .  Hon-  F-  F-  Johnson,  Wallace. 

Illinois: 

Governor  Charles  S.  Deneen. 

Mr  Lyman  E.  Cooley,  C.  E.,  Chicago. 

Dr  Edmund  J.  James,  Champaign. 

Mr  Isham  Randolph,  C.  E.,  Chicago. 

Governor  J.  Frank  Hanly. 

Hon.  Joseph  D.  Oliver,  South  Bend. 
Hon.  Frank  B.  Posey,  Evansville. 
Mr  Henry  Riesenberg,  Indianapolis. 

Governor  Albert  B.  Cummins  (absent). 

Mr  George  C.  Call,  Sioux  City. 

Mr  I.  M.  Earle,  Des  Moines. 

Mr  William  Louden,  Fairfield 
Kansas : 

Governor  Edward  W.  Hoch. 

Mr  John  E.  Frost,  Topeka. 

Mr  John  Powers,  Marion. 

Mr  Eugene  F.  Ware,  Kansas  Citv 
Kentucky : 

Governor  Augustus  E.  Willson. 

Mr  John  B.  Atkinson,  Earlington. 

Colonel  Andrew  Cowan,  Louisville. 

Mr  J.  W.  Porter,  Lexington. 
Louisiana : 

Governor  Newton  C.  Blanchard. 

Hon.  E.  H.  Farrar,  New  Orleans. 

Mr  Thomas  J.  Kernan,  Baton  Rouge. 

Mr  John  M.  Parker,  New  Orleans. 
Maine : 

Governor  William  T.  Cobb  (absent). 

Ex-Governor  John  F.  Hill,  Augusta. 
Professor  Austin  Cary,  Brunswick. 
Hon.  Edgar  E.  Ring,  Orono. 

(XXI) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


Maryland: 

Governor  Austin  L.  Crothers  (absent). 
Mr  Bernard  N.  Baker,  Baltimore. 
Dr  William  Bullock  Clark,  Baltimore. 
Mr  Edward  Ilirsch,  Baltimore. 

Massachusetts 

Governor  Curtis  Guild,  Jr.  (absent). 

Professor  Kenyon  L.  Butterfield,  Amherst. 
Professor  Frank  W.  Rane,  Boston. 
Professor  George  F.  Swain,  Boston. 

Michigan : 

Governor  Fred  M.  Warner. 

Dr  James  B.  Angell,  Ann  Arbor. 
Mr  Charles  B.  Blair,  Grand  Rapids. 
Hon.  Chase  S.  Osborn,  Sault  Ste.  Marie. 

Minnesota: 

Governor  John  A.  Johnson. 

Hon.  F.  B.  Lynch,  St.  Paul. 

Dr  Cyrus  Northrop,  Minneapolis. 

Mi^Usippi: 

Governor  Edmond  F.  Noel. 

Dr  J.  D.  Barkdull,  Natchez. 

Judge  D.  M.  Miller,  Hazlehurst. 

Mr  A.  M.  Pepper,  Lexington. 
Missouri: 

Governor  Joseph  W.  Folk. 

Dr  William  H.  Black,  Marshall. 

Mr  \.  W.  McLeod,  St.  Louis. 

Colonel  John  A.  Ockerson,  St.  Louis. 

Afonl  ma: 

Governor  Edwin  Morris. 

Mr  Paul  A.  Fusz,  Philipsburg. 
Mr  \V.  B.  George,  Billings. 
Mr  Henry  M.  Rae,  Giltedge. 
Nebraska: 

ivernor  G.  L.  Sheldon. 

Professor  Brwirj  II.  Harbour,  Lincoln. 
Professor  E.  A.  Burnett,  Lincoln. 
Victor  Ro  : .  <  >maha. 

1 1 

nor  John  Sparks  (absenl  i. 
Mr  1'..  ]•'.  Reno. 


Roster  of  the  Conference 


New  Hampshire: 

Governor  Charles  M.  Floyd. 

Mr  Philip  W.  Ayres,  Concord. 
Hon.  Irving  W.  Drew,  Lancaster. 
General  Charles  J.  Hamblett,  Nashua. 
New  Jersey : 

Governor  John  F.  Fort. 

Mr  Harry  R.  Humphreys,  Camden. 
Dr  Henry  B.  Kiimmel,  Trenton. 
Mr  Charles  L.  Pack,  Lakewood. 
New  Mexico  (Territory  of) : 

Governor  George  Curry. 

Mr  George  Arnot,  Albuquerque. 
Mr  Will  C.  Barnes,  Las  Vegas. 
Mr  Ralph  E.  Twitchell,  Albuquerque. 
New  York : 

Governor  Charles  E.  Hughes. 

Dr  Nicholas  Murray  Butler,  New  York  City. 
Dr  Jacob  Gould  Schurman,  Ithaca. 
Hon.  James  S.  Whipple,  Salamanca. 
North  Carolina: 

Governor  Robert  B.  Glenn. 

Judge  Armistead  Burwell,  Charlotte. 
Hon.  Alfred  D.  Ward,  Newbern. 
Mr  W.  B.  Cooper,  Wilmington. 
North  Dakota: 

Governor  John  Burke  (Honorary  Secretary). 
Hon.  J.  L-  Cashel,  Grafton. 
Dr  L.  S.  Platou,  Valley  City. 
Hon.  F.  L.  Thompson,  Cando. 
Ohio: 

Governor  A.  L.  Harris. 

Mr  Allen  Ripley  Foote,  Columbus. 
Major  George  B.  Fox,  Rockland. 
Mr  D.  J.  Sinclair.  Steubenville. 
Oklahoma: 

Governor  C.  N.  Haskell  (absent). 

Mr  George  W.  Barnes,  Muskogee. 
Mr  Scott  Ferris. 
Mr  John  F.  McMurray. 
Oregon': 

Governor  George  E.  Chamberlain  (absent). 

Chief  Justice  Robert  Sharpe  Bean,  Salem. 
Mr  C.  S.  Jackson,  Portland. 

(XXIII) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


Pennsylvania : 

Governor  Edwin  S.  Stuart. 

Mr  Alba  B.  Johnson.  Philadelphia. 
Hon.  Robert  S.  Murphy,  Johnstown. 
Colonel  C.  A.  Rook,  Pittsburg. 
Porto  Rico  (Dependency  of): 

Governor  Regis  H.  Post. 

Hon.    Tulio    Larrinaga   (Resident    Commissioner),    Wash- 
ington. 
Hon.  George  W.  Davis,  Washington. 
Hon.  Beekman  Winthrop,  Washington. 
Rhode  Island: 

Governor  James  H.  Higgins. 

Mr  E.  G.  Buckland,  Providence. 
Dr  William  H.  P.  Faunce,  Providence. 
Mr  William  J.  Feeley,  Providence. 
:th  Carolina: 

Governor  Martin  F.  Ansel. 

Colonel  J.  C.  Hemphill,  Charleston. 
Professor  A.  C.  Moore,  Columbia. 
Mr  J.  E.  Sirrine,  Greenville. 
South  Dakota: 

Governor  Coe  I.  Crawford. 

Hon.  T.  S.  Everitt,  Redfield. 
Hon.  R.  O.  Richards,  Huron. 
Hon.  Bartlett  Tripp,  Yankton. 
Tennessee : 

Governor  Malcolm  R.  Patterson  (absent). 
Chancellor  John  Allison,  Nashville. 
Mr  J.  II.  Baird,  Memphis. 
Mr  Frank  S.  Washburn,  Winchester, 
as: 

Governor  T.  M.  Campbell  (absent). 
Lieutenant  Governor  A.  B.  Davidson. 
Hon   B.  M.  Baker,  Canadian. 
Hon.  Richard  !■".  Burges,  El  Paso. 
Hon.  W.  Goodrich  [ones,  Temple. 
ih: 

|"lm  C.  Culler. 
Mr  James  II.  Mays,  Sail  Lake  City. 

Mr  William  VV.   Riler,  Sail   Lake  City. 

Mr  Prank  B.  Stephens,  Sail  Lake  City. 


I  XXIV) 


Roster  of  the  Conference 


Vermont : 

Governor  Fletcher  Proctor. 

Hon.  Willis  N.  Cady,  Middlebury. 
Hon.  Joseph  A.  De  Boer,  Montpelier. 
Vir  '   *  H°n'  ^°hn  L*  Southwick>  Burlington. 

Governor  Claude  A.  Swanson. 

Dr  E.  A.  Alderman,  Charlottesville. 
Hon.  Rosewell  Page,  Beaver  Dam. 

Hon.  James  B.  Russell,  Winchester. 
Washington : 

Governor  A.  E.  Mead. 

Mr  Frank  H.  Lamb,  Hoquiam. 
Hon.  E.  W.  Ross,  Olympia. 
Professor  O.  L.  Waller,  Pullman. 
West  Virginia : 

Governor  W.  M.  O.  Dawson. 

Mr  Hu  Maxwell,  Morgan  town. 
Mr  James  W.  Paul,  Charleston. 

Wisconsin :      ^  *'  °'  WhitC'  MorSantown  (Speaker). 
Governor  James  O.  Davidson. 

Hon.  E.  M.  Griffith,  Madison. 
Hon.  J.  H.  Stout,  Menomonee. 

.  Hon-  George  A.  Whiting,  Neenah. 

w  yoming : 

Governor  Bryant  B.  Brooks. 

Hon.  C.  W.  Burdick,  Cheyenne. 
Hon.  Edward  Gillette,  Sheridan. 
Mr  George  Metcalf ,  Douglas. 

Special  Guests 

Hon.  William  Jennings  Bryan. 
Mr  Andrew  Carnegie. 
Mr  James  J.  Hill. 
Mr  John  Mitchell. 

Organizations  and  their  Representatives 
American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Science: 

President  L.  S.  Rowe,  Philadelphia. 
American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science- 

President  T.  C.  Chamberlin,  Chicago  (Speaker) 
Amencan  Association  of  Agricultural  Colleges  and  Experiment  Stations: 

President  J.  L.  Snyder,  Lansing,  Michigan. 

(xxv) 


Proceedings  or  the  Conference  of  Governors 


American  Bar  Association: 

President  J.  M.  Dickinson,  Chicago. 
American  Chemical  Society: 

President  Marston  T.  Bogert,  New  York  City. 
American  Civic  Association: 

President  J.  Horace  McFarland,  Harrisburg. 
American  Economic  Association: 

President  Simon  N.  Patten,  Philadelphia. 
American  Electro-Chemical  Society : 

Edward  R.  Taylor  (Delegate),  Penn  Yan,  X.  Y. 
American  Federation  of  Labor: 

President  Samuel  Gompers,  Washington. 
American  Forestry  Association: 

Win.  S.  Harvey  (Chairman  Executive  Committee),  Philadelphia. 
American  Institute  of  Architects: 

President  Cass  Gilbert,  New  York  City. 
American  Institute  of  Electrical  Engineers: 

President  Henry  G.  Stott,  New  York  City. 
American  Institute  of  Mining  Engineers: 

President  John  Hays  Hammond,  New  York  City. 
American  Medical  Association: 

President  Joseph  D.  Bryant,  M.  D.,  New  York  City. 
American  Mining  Congress: 

J.  F.  Callbreath  (Secretary),  Denver. 
American  National  Livestock  Association: 

President  H.  A.  Jastro,  Bakersfield,  California  (Speaker). 
American  Newspaper  Publishers'  Association: 

President  Herman  Ridder,  New  York  City. 
American  Paper  and  Pulp  Association: 

President  David  S.  Cowles,  New  York  City. 
American  Public  Health  Association: 

President  Richard  II.  Lewis,  M.  D.,  Raleigh. 
American  Railway  Master  Mechanics' Association: 

President  Win.  Mcintosh,  Jersey  City. 
American  Scenic  and  Historic  Preservation  Society: 

President  George  F.  Kim/,  New  York  City. 
American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers: 

President  Charles  Macdonald,  New  York  City. 
American  of  Mechanical  Engineers: 

•  in  M.  P.  Holman,  St.  Louis. 
American  Society  for  T(  Materials: 

President  Charl<     B    Dudlej ,  Altoona. 

A::; 

roll  D.  Wright,  Worcester,  Mass. 

:Vl) 


Roster  of  the  Conference 


Association  of  State  Geologists : 

H.  Foster  Bain  (Secretary),  Champaign. 
Atlantic  Deeper  Waterways  Association : 

President  J.  Hampton  Moore,  Philadelphia. 
Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers, 
Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Firemen  and  Engineers, 
Brotherhood  of  Railroad  Trainmen: 

H.  R.  Fuller  (Joint  Representative),  Washington. 
Business  Men's  League: 

President  James  E.  Smith,  St.  Louis. 
Carriage  Builders'  National  Association: 

President  J.  D.  Dort,  Flint,  Michigan. 
Farmers'  National  Congress: 

President  B.  Cameron,  Stagville,  North  Carolina. 
General  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs: 

President  Sarah  S.  Platt-Decker,  Denver. 
Geological  Society  of  America: 

President  Samuel  Calvin,  Iowa  City. 
Interstate  Inland  Waterway: 

President  C.  S.  E.  Holland,  Victoria,  Texas. 
Interstate  Mississippi  River  Improvement  and  Levee  Association: 

President  Charles  Scott,  Rosedale,  Mississippi. 
Lake  Carriers'  Association : 

President  William  Livingstone,  Detroit. 
Lakes-to-Gulf  Deep  Waterway  Association : 

President  W.  K.  Kavanaugh,  St.  Louis. 
Missouri  River  Improvement  Association: 

President  Henry  T.  Clarke,  Omaha. 
Missouri  Valley  River  Improvement  Association: 

President  Lawrence  M.  Jones,  Kansas  City. 
National  Academy  of  Sciences : 

President  Ira  Remsen,  Baltimore. 
National  Advisory  Board  on  Fuels  and  Structural  Materials : 

Robert  W.  Hunt  (Vice-Chairman) ,  Chicago. 
National  Association  of  Agricultural  Implement  and  Vehicle  Manufac- 
turers : 

President  Newell  Sanders,  Chattanooga. 
National  Association  of  Manufacturers : 

President  James  W.  Van  Cleave,  St.  Louis. 
National  Association  of  State  Universities: 

President  Charles  R.  Van  Hise,  Madison,  Wisconsin. 
National  Board  of  Fire  Underwriters: 

Powell  Evans  (Delegate),  Philadelphia. 


(XXVIl) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


National  Board  of  Trade: 

President  Frank  D.  La  Lanne,  Philadelphia. 
National  Business  League  of  America: 

Austin  A.  Burnham  (General  Secretary),  Chicago. 
National  Civic  Federation: 

President  Seth  Low,  New  York. 
National  Council  of  Commerce: 

President  Gustav  H.  Schwab,  New  York  City. 
National  Drainage  Association : 

George  E:  Barstow  (ex-President),  Barstow,  Texas. 
National  Electric  Light  Association: 

President  Dudley  Farrand,  Newark,  New  Jersey. 
National  Farmers'  Institute: 

E.  W.  Wickey  (Secretary),  East  Chicago,  Indiana. 
National  Geographic  Society : 

President  Willis  L.  Moore,  Washington. 
National  Grange: 

President  N.  J.  Bachelder,  Concord,  New  Hampshire. 
National  Hay  Association : 

President  Charles  J.  Austin,  New  York. 
National  Irrigation  Congress: 

President  Frank  C.  Goudy,  Denver. 
National  Lumber  Manufacturers'  Association: 

President  William  Irvine,  Chippewa  Falls,  Wisconsin. 
National  Rivers  and  Harbors  Congress: 

President  Joseph  E.  Ransdell,  Lake  Providence. 
National  Slack  Cooperage  Manufacturers'  Association: 

President  H.  M.  Schmoldt,  Beardstown,  Illinois. 
National  Wagon  Manufacturers'  Association: 

President  Richard  Carpenter,  Lafayette,  Indiana. 
National  Water  Users'  Association: 

D.  R.  Hubbard  (Secretary),  Boise,  Idaho. 
Niagara  Palls  Commission: 

F.  1).  Millet  (Member),  New  York  City. 
Ohio  Valley  Improvement  Association: 

President  John  L.  Vance,  Cincinnati. 
for  the  Promotion  of  Engineering  Education: 

President  Charles  S.  Howe,  Cleveland. 
i  Ann  ricarj  Poresters: 

•  mod  w.  Price  (Vice-President),  Washington. 
Upper  Mississippi  River  Improvement  Association: 

l'n   idem  Thomas  Wilkinson,  Burlington,  Iowa. 


(XX  V  III  I 


Roster  of  the  Conference 


Periodical  Press  •  Representatives 

American  Industries: 

H.  H.  Lewis,  New  York  City. 
American  Magazine: 

C.  H.  Forbes-Lindsay,  New  York  City. 
Century  Magazine  (The) : 

Richard  Underwood  Johnson,  New  York  City. 
Colliers  Weekly:      ■ 

Samuel  E.  Moffett,  New  York  City. 
Conservation  (formerly  Forestry  and  Irrigation) : 

Frank  G.  Heaton,  Washington. 
Electrical  World: 

T.  C.  Martin,  New  York  City. 
Engineering  and  Mining  Journal: 

Walter  R.  Ingalls,  New  York  City. 
Engineering  News: 

Charles  Whiting  Baker,  New  York  City. 
Everybodys  Magazine: 

John  O'Hara  Cosgrave,  New  York  City. 
Farm  and  Fireside: 

John  C.  Barnett,  Springfield,  Ohio. 
Farm  Journal  (The) : 

Wilmer  Atkinson,  Philadelphia. 
Independent  (The) : 

John  Martin,  New  York  City. 
Iron  Age: 

Charles  Kirchhoff ,  New  York  City. 
Outlook  (The) : 

Elbert  F.  Baldwin,  New  York  City. 
Proceedings  American  Institute  of  Electrical  Engineers: 

Ralph  W.  Pope,  New  York  City. 
Proceedings  American  Institute  of  Mining  Engineers: 

Joseph  Struthers,  New  York  City. 
Proceedings  American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers: 

Charles  Warren  Hunt,  New  York  City. 
Proceedings  American  Society  of  Mechanical  Engineers: 

Calvin  W.  Rice,  New  York  City. 
Review  of  Reviews  (The) : 

Albert  Shaw,  New  York  City. 
Success : 

Orison  Swett  Marden,  New  York  City. 
Worlds  Work: 

Walter  H.  Page,  New  York  City. 

(xxix) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


General  Guests 

Hon.  O.  P.  Austin,  Chief  Bureau  of  Statistics,  Department  of  Commerce 
and  Labor. 

Professor  Liberty  Hyde  Bailey,  Ithaca,  New  York. 

Mr  C.  J.  Blanchard,  Statistician  U.  S.  Reclamation  Service. 

Hon.  George  M.  Bowers,  Commissioner  of  Fisheries. 

Kx-Senator  Joseph  M.  Carey,  Cheyenne,  Wyoming. 

Mr  W.  B.  Cooper.  Alternate  Advisor  from  North  Carolina. 

Hon.  Fred  Dennett,  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office. 

Hon.  E.  Dana  Durand,  Deputy  Commissioner  Bureau  of  Corporations. 

General  O.  H.   Ernst,  Chairman  International  Waterways  Commission. 

Mr  John  A.  Fox,  Blytheville,  Arkansas. 

Mr  Charles  Frederick,  Alternate  Advisor  from  Ohio. 

Mr  Henry  Gannett,  Chairman  U.  S.  Geographic  Board. 

Mr  E.  O.  Garrett,  Alternate  Advisor  from  Nebraska. 

Reverend  Edward  Everett  Hale,  Chaplain  U.  S.  Senate. 

Dr  J.  A.  Holmes,  Chief  Technologic  Branch  U.  S.  Geological  Survey. 

Dr  L.  O.  Howard,  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Entomology. 

Professor  Emory  R.  Johnson  (Speaker),  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
Philadelphia. 

Hon.  Martin  A.  Knapp,  Chairman  Interstate  Commerce  Commission. 

Dr  George  M.  Kober  (Speaker),  Washington. 

Mr  M.  O.  Leigh  ton,  Chief  Water  Resources  Branch  U.  S.  Geological  Survey. 

Hon.  Francis  E.  Leupp,  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs. 

Mr  R.  A.  Long  (Speaker),  Kansas  City. 

Mr  John  L.  Mathews,  Boston. 

Dr  Alonzo  D.  Melvin,  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry. 

Dr  C.  Hart  Mcrriam,  Chief  of  the  Biological  Survey. 

Mr  Alex.  McNeil,  Representative  of  Canadian  papers. 

Mr  S.  M.  Xeely,  Alternate  Advisor  from  Tennessee. 

Hon.  Charles  P.  Will,  Commissioner  of  Labor. 

H<>n.  S.  X.  I).  North,  Director  of  the  Census. 

Mr  Yietor  H.  Olmstead,  Chief  Bureau  of  Statistics,  Department  of  Agri- 
culture. 

Hon   George  C.  Pardee  (Speaker),  Oakland,  California. 

Mr  Amos  R.   I{.   Pinchot,  Ww  York  City. 

Mr  I'.  G    Plummer,  Geographer  Forest  Service. 

Lr  Joseph  Hyde  Pratt,  State  Geologist  of  North  Carolina. 

Dr  Henry  S.  Pritchett,  Director  Carnegie  Foundation,  New  York  City. 

Hon.   Robert    P.   Porter,  Foreign  press  representative,  New  York  City. 

Mr  II.  dr  Putnam  (Speaker),  New  York  City. 

Mr  Calvin  YV.  Rio  Secretary  American  Society  of  Mechanical  Engi- 
n<  i  v  York  City. 

(xxx) 


Roster  of  the  Conference 


Dr  George  Otis  Smith,  Director  of  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey. 

Hon.  J.  Knox  Taylor,  Architect  of  the  Treasury. 

Mr  Percy  Thompson,  Alternate  Advisor  from  New  Jersey. 

Dr  Otto  H.  Tittman,  Superintendent  of  the  U.  S.  Coast  and  Geodetic 

Survey. 
Dr  A.  C.  True,  Director  of  the  Office  of  Experiment  Stations,  Department 

of  Agriculture. 
Dr  Charles  D.  Walcott,  Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 
Mr  J.  S.  Warren,  Alternate  Advisor  from  Tennessee. 
Dr  Harvey  W.  Wiley,  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Chemistry,  Department  of 

Agriculture. 
Professor  Milton  Whitney,  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Soils,  Department  of 

Agriculture. 
Dr  Robert  S.  Woodward,  President  Carnegie   Institution,  Washington. 

Inland  Waterways  Commission 

Theodore  E.  Burton  (Chairman) ,  House  of  Representatives. 

Francis  G.  Newlands  (Vice-Chairman),  U.  S.  Senate. 

W  J  McGee  (Secretary),  Erosion  Expert,  Bureau  of  Soils;  member  of 
Conference  Committee,  and  Recording  Secretary  of  the  Conference. 

William  Warner,  U.  S.  Senate. 

John  H.  Bankhead,  U.  S.  Senate. 

Alexander  Mackenzie,  Chief  of  Engineers,  U.  S.  Army,  War  Department. 

F.  H.  Newell,  Director  U.  S.  Reclamation  Service;  member  Conference 
Committee. 

Gifford  Pinchot,  U.  S.  Forester;  Chief  of  the  Forest  Service;  Chairman 
Conference  Committee. 

Herbert  Knox  Smith,  Commissioner  in  charge  of  the  Bureau  of  Corpora- 
tions. 

Thomas  R.  Shipp,  General  Secretary  of  the  Conference. 


(xxxi) 


R    24 


CONTENTS 


Page 

Verbatim  Record i 

Opening  Session i 

Benediction i 

Opening  Address  by  the  President 3 

Second  Session 14 

The  Conservation  of  Ores  and  Related  Minerals;  Andrew  Carnegie 14 

The  Waste  of  Our  Fuel  Resources;  I.  C.  White 26 

General  Discussion 37 

Address  of  John  Mitchell 37 

Address  of  Governor  Johnson 40 

Address  of  President  Van  Hise 43 

Address  of  John  Hays  Hammond 52 

Address  of  Secretary  Root 55 

Address  of  Secretary  Cortelyou 57 

Address  of  Governor  Dawson 58 

Address  of  President  Angell _  59 

Third  Session 63 

The  Natural  Wealth  of  the  Land  and  its  Conservation;  James  J.  HilL  63 

Soil  Wastage;  Thomas  Chrowder  Chamberlin 75 

Forest  Conservation ;  R.  A.  Long 83 

Address  of  Secretary  Wilson 96 

Address  of  James  S.  Whipple 99 

Address  of  Governor  Fort 102 

Address  of  President  Hadley 117 

Address  of  Governor  Glenn 119 

Remarks  of  Frank  D.  La  Lanne 123 

Address  of  Governor  Davidson 124 

Fourth  Session 128 

Resources  Related  to  Irrigation ;  George  C.  Pardee 129 

Grazing  on  the  Public  Lands;  H.  A.  Jastro 141 

Address  of  ex-Senator  Carey 146 

Address  of  J.  Horace  McFarland 153 

Address  of  Governor  Folk 157 

Address  of  Governor  Brooks 161 

Address  of  Governor  Cutler 163 

Address  of  Governor  Gooding 168 

Address  of  Governor  Norris 172 

Address  of  President  James 173 

Address  of  Secretary  Garfield 179 

Address  of  Professor  Burnett 184 

Address  of  William  S.  Harvey 186 

Address  of  Governor  Burke 1S8 

Address  of  W.  Goodrich  Jones 190 

(xxxm) 
56254—09 3 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


Verbatim  Record — Continued  Page 

Fifth  Session 192 

Declaration 192 

Statement  of  Governor  Blanchard 194 

Address  of  William  Jennings  Bryan 201 

Address  of  Governor  Comer 207 

:  >psis  by  the  President 212 

Address  of  Governor  Mead  .. 213 

Address  of  Governor  Hanly 215 

Address  of  Governor  Willson 216 

Address  of  Governor  Hoch 218 

Address  of  Governor  Sheldon 220 

Address  of  Lieutenant-Governor  Davidson 223 

Address  of  William  Louden 226 

Supplementary  Proceedings 237 

Opening  Statements  for  Sixth  Session 237 

Conservation  of  Life  and  Health  by  Improved  Water  Supply;  George 

M.  Kober 237 

Navigation  Resources  of  American  Waterways;  Emory  R.  Johnson__  272 

Conservation  of  Power  Resources;  H.  St.  Clair  Putnam 292 

Additional  Expressions 309 

Conservation  of  Natural  Resources  in  Illinois;  Governor  Deneen 309 

Conservation  of  Natural  Resources  in  the  State  of  New  York;  Governor 

Hughes 314 

Conservation  of  Pennsylvania's  Resources;  Governor  Edwin  S.  Stuart  327 

Conservation  of  Human  Life;  Governor  Harris 330 

Michigan  and  Her  Resources;  Governor  Warner 331 

National  Efficiency;  Governor  Buchtel 332 

Wyoming's  View  of  Forests;  Governor  Brooks 333 

Conservation  in  Hawaii;  Governor  Frear 334 

Interest  of   the  National  Capital;  Commissioner  Macfarland 339 

Resources  of  Florida;  E.  H.  Sellards , 340 

Florida's  Waterways;  George  F.  Miles 341 

Resources  of  Iowa;  I.  M.  Earle 343 

Resources  of  Maryland;  Bernard  N.  Baker 345 

The  Grazing   Lands  and   National   Forests  of   Arizona;    Dwight   B. 

Heard  __'. 346 

Our  Water  Resources;  Lyman  E.  Cooley,  C.  E 349 

I.akes-to-Gulf  Waterway;  Isham  Randolph,  C.  E 352 

Plant  for  Conservation;  Henry  Riesenberg 357 

Fo-  Related  to  Mining  Interests;  John  B.  Atkinson 359 

The  1  Maine;    Edgar  E.  Ring 362 

Tli'  '.alien  Problem;  Chase  S.  Osborn 367 

ration  from  the  View-point  of  Recreation:  William  H.  Black..  371 

Water  Resource     Henry  B.  Kummel 372 

Methods  for  Conservation;  R.  O.  Richards 373 

Tlx-    [mmediati  rity    for    Acquiring    the    Appalachian   Forest 

ncelloi  John  Allison    376 

What   Washington  as  a  State  Has   Done   and   Can   Do  for   Forest 

a;  Prank  H.  Lamb—.         384 


nv) 


Contents 

Supplementary  Proceedings — Continued  page 
Additional  Expressions — Continued 

Forest  Conservation;  Hu  Maxwell 390 

Suggestions  on  the  Conservation  of  Coal;  James  W.  Paul 393 

Suggestions  on  the  Conservation  of  Some  of  Our  Resources;  .Edward 

Gillette 394 

Conservation  in  Relation  to  Labor;  Samuel  Gompers 398 

View  of  the  Engineer;  President  Henry  G.  Stott 404 

Conservation  of  Minerals;  President  John  Hays  Hammond 405 

Railways  and  Conservation;  President  William  Mcintosh 407 

The  Preservation  of  Scenic  Beauty;  President  George  F.  Kunz 408 

Methods  of  Conservation;  Calvin  W.  Rice 420 

The  Use  of  Some  of  the  Natural  Resources  of  the  Country  and  Pos- 
sible Economies  in  Their  Use;  Charles  B.  Dudley 421 

Interests  of  the  Manufacturer;  President  James  W.  Van  Cleave 423 

Conservation  of  Soils;  President  Charles  Richard  Van  Hise 426 

The  Twilight  Zone;  President  Seth  Low ..  434 

Necessity  for  Waterway  Improvement;  President  Charles  J.  Austin. .  435 

Fire  Prevention;  Powell  Evans 437 

How  Conservation  of  Mineral  Resources  can   be  Accomplished;  J.  A. 

Holmes 439 

Index 447 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Page 

Governors  in  attendance (facing)  xxxvii 

Production  of  iron  ore  in  the  United  States,  1 870-1 907 18 

Increase  in  tonnage  carried  by  steam  roads 105 

Increase  in  passengers  carried  by  railroads 105 

Increase  in  manufactured  products 106 

Increase  of  railway  mileage 106 

Increase  of  traffic  through  Sault  Ste.  Marie  canals 107 

Effect  of  water  supply  on  death  rates 241 

Outline  map  of  Cumberland,  Md .   243 

Death  rate  from  typhoid  fever  in  American  cities 245 

Reduced  death  rate  with  improved  water  supply 249 

Reduced  death  rate  in  five  American  cities 250 

Typhoid  fever  death  rate  in  several  countries 252 

Typhoid  fever  death  rates  grouped  by  water  supply 259 

Motive  power  in  the  United  States 296 

Sources  of  motive  power  in  the  United  States .. 298 

Motive  power  electrically  applied 299 

Percentage  of  power  applied  in  manufactures 301 


(xxxv) 


Governors  in  Attendance 


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(xxxvn) 


CONFERENCE  OF  GOVERNORS 

MAY  13-15,  1908 


VERBATIM  RECORD 
Opening  Session 

The  opening  session  of  the  Conference  of  Governors,  assembled  in  the 
East  Room  of  the  White  House,  was  called  to  order  at  n  oclock,  a.  m., 
May  13,  1908,  by  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

Dr  Edward  Everett  Hale,  Chaplain  of  the  United  States  Senate, 
being  called  on,  invoked  the  benediction  in  these  words: 

"The  Lord  thy  God  bringeth  thee  into  a  good  land,  a  land  of  brooks  of 
water,  of  fountains  and  springs,  flowing  forth  in  valleys  and  hills,  aland 
of  wheat  and  barley  and  vines  and  fig  trees  and  pomegranates,  a  land  of 
olive  trees  and  honey,  a  land  wherein  thou  shalt  eat  bread  without  scarceness. 
Thou  shalt  not  lack  anything  in  it — a  land  where  stones  are  iron  and  out 
of  whose  hills  thou  mayest  dig  copper. 

"Beware  lest  when  thou  hast  eaten  and  art  full,  thou  forget  the  Lord 
thy  God. 

"Thine  eyes  shall  behold  a  land  that  reacheth  afar,  a  place  of  broad 
rivers  and  streams.  Yea,  thy  children  shall  possess  the  nations  and  make 
the  desolate  spots  to  be  inhabited. 

"So  they  helped  everyone  his  neighbor  and  every  one  said  to  his  brother, 
'Be  of  good  courage.1  So  the  carpenter  encouraged  the  goldsmitii  and  he 
that  smoteth  with  the  hammer  him  that  smote  the  anvil. 

"  'Bear  ye  one  another's  burdens,'  and  so  fulfill  the  law  of  Christ." 

Let  us  pray. 

Father,  for  this  we  have  come  together.  Thou  hast  made  for  us  the  Para- 
dise through  which  these  rivers  flow.  Now  give  us  the  strength  of  Thy 
Holy  Spirit  that  we  may  go  into  this  garden  of  Thine  and  bring  forth  fruit 
in  Thy  service.  Thou  hast  revealed  these  to  us  to  use  under  Thy  guidance. 
We  are  children  of  the  living  God,  alive  with  Thy  life,  inspirited  with  Thy 
Holy  Spirit.  The  harvest  field  is  ready  and  thou  are  pleased  to  send  us 
into  the  harvest.  Be  with  us  now  in  our  assemblage.  Thy  servants  have 
come  from  the  north  and  from  the  south,  from  the  east  and  from  the  west. 
It  is  our  God's  land.     Thy  oceans  send  their  mists  into  our  mountains; 

(1) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


Thy  streams  descend  into  our  valleys;  and  Thou  hast  chosen  us  that  we 
may  be  now  the  ministers  of  Thy  will  and  enter  into  that  harvest  field. 

Bless  us  now  in  to-day's  service  and  those  that  are  to  follow,  and  may 
Thy  servants  return  to  their  homes,  alive  in  that  light,  clad  in  the  Holy 
Spirit,  willing  to  enter  into  Thy  work  and  to  go  about  our  Father's  business. 

Join  me  audibly  in  the  Lord's  Prayer. 

Our  Father  which  art  in  Heaven,  hallowed  be  Thy  name,  Thy  Kingdom 
come,  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  Heaven.  Give  us  this  day  our 
daily  bread  and  forgive  us  our  trespasses  as  we  forgive  those  who  trespass 
against  us.  Lead  us  not  into  temptation,  but  deliver  us  from  evil,  for 
Thine  is  the  kingdom  and  the  power  and  the  glory,  forever.     Amen. 


(2) 


OPENING  ADDRESS  BY  THE  PRESIDENT 


Governors  of  the  several  States;  and  Gentlemen: 

I  welcome  you  to  this  Conference  at  the  White  House.  You  have 
come  hither  at  my  request,  so  that  we  may  join  together  to  consider 
the  question  of  the  conservation  and  use  of  the  great  fundamental 
sources  of  wealth  of  this  Nation. 

So  vital  is  this  question,  that  for  the  first  time  in  our  history  the 
chief  executive  officers  of  the  States  separately,  and  of  the  States  together 
forming  the  Nation,  have  met  to  consider  it.  It  is  the  chief  material 
question  that  confronts  us,  second  only — and  second  always — to  the 
great  fundamental  questions  of  morality.     [Applause] 

With  the  governors  come  men  from  each  State  chosen  for  their  special 
acquaintance  with  the  terms  of  the  problem  that  is  before  us.  Among 
them  are  experts  in  natural  resources  and  representatives  of  national 
organizations  concerned  in  the  development  and  use  of  these  resources; 
the  Senators  and  Representatives  in  Congress;  the  Supreme  Court,  the 
Cabinet,  and  the  Inland  Waterways  Commission  have  likewise  been 
invited  to  the  Conference,  which  is  therefore  national  in  a  peculiar 
sense. 

This  Conference  on  the  conservation  of  natural  resources  is  in  effect 
a  meeting  of  the  representatives  of  all  the  people  of  the  United  States 
called  to  consider  the  weightiest  problem  now  before  the  Nation;  and 
the  occasion  for  the  meeting  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  natural  resources 
of  our  country  are  in  danger  of  exhaustion  if  we  permit  the  old  wasteful 
methods  of  exploiting  them  longer  to  continue. 

With  the  rise  of  peoples  from  savagery  to  civilization,  and  with  the 
consequent  growth  in  the  extent  and  variety  of  the  needs  of  the  average 
man,  there  comes  a  steadily  increasing  growth  of  the  amount  demanded 
by  this  average  man  from  the  actual  resources  of  the  country.  And 
yet,  rather  curiously,  at  the  same  time  that  there  comes  that  increase 
in  what  the  average  man  demands  from  the  resources,  he  is  apt  to  grow 
to  lose  the  sense  of  his  dependence  upon  nature.  He  lives  in  big  cities. 
He  deals  in  industries  that  do  not  bring  him  in  close  touch  with  nature. 
He  does  not  realize  the  demands  he  is  making  upon  nature.  For  in- 
stance, he  finds,  as  he  has  found  before  in  many  parts  of  this  country, 
that  it  is  cheaper  to  build  his  house  of  concrete  than  of  wood,  learning 
in  this  way  only  that  he  has  allowed  the  woods  to  become  exhausted. 
That  is  happening,  as  you  know,  in  parts  of  this  country  at  this  very  time. 

(3) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

Savages,  and  very  primitive  peoples  generally,  concern  themselves 
only  with  superficial  natural  resources;  with  those  which  they  obtain 
from  the  actual  surface  of  the  ground.  As  peoples  become  a  little  less 
primitive,  their  industries,  although  in  a  rude  manner,  are  extended 
to  resources  below  the  surface;  then,  with  what  we  call  civilization  and 
the  extension  of  knowledge,  more  resources  come  into  use,  industries 
are  multiplied,  and  foresight  begins  to  become  a  necessary  and  prominent 
factor  in  life.  Crops  are  cultivated;  animals  are  domesticated;  and 
metals  are  mastered. 

We  can  not  do  any  of  these  things  without  foresight,  and  we  can  not, 
when  the  nation  becomes  fully  civilized  and  very  rich,  continue  to  be 
civilized  and  rich  unless  the  nation  shows  more  foresight  than  we  are 
showing  at  this  moment  as  a  nation.     [Applause] 

Every  step  of  the  progress  of  mankind  is  marked  by  the  discovery  and 
use  of  natural  resources  previously  unused.  Without  such  progressive 
knowledge  and  utilization  of  natural  resources  population  could  not 
grow,  nor  industries  multiply,  nor  the  hidden  wealth  of  the  earth  be 
developed  for  the  benefit  of  mankind. 

From  the  first  beginnings  of  civilization,  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile  and 
the  Euphrates,  the  industrial  progress  of  the  world  has  gone  on  slowly, 
with  occasional  set-backs,  but  on  the  whole  steadily,  through  tens  of 
centuries  to  the  present  day. 

It  never  does  advance  by  jumps,  gentlemen.  It  always  goes  slowly. 
There  are  occasional  set-backs,  but  on  the  whole  it  goes  steadily. 

But  of  late  the  rapidity  of  the  process  has  increased  at  such  a  rate 
that  more  space  has  been  actually  covered  during  the  century  and  a 
quarter  occupied  by  our  national  life  than  during  the  preceding  six  thou- 
sand years  that  take  us  back  to  the  earliest  monuments  of  Egypt,  to  the 
earliest  cities  of  the  Babylonian  plain. 

Xow,  I  ask  you  to  think  what  that  means;  and  I  am  speaking  with 
historic  literalness.  In  the  development,  the  use,  and  therefore  the 
exhaustion  of  certain  of  the  natural  resources,  the  progress  has  been 
more  rapid  in  the  past  century  and  a  quarter  than  during  all  preceding 
time  of  which  we  have  record. 

When  the  founders  of  this  nation  met  at  Independence  Hall  in  Phila- 
delphia the  conditions  of  commerce  had  not  fundamentally  changed 
from  what  they  wen-  when  the  Phoenician  keels  first  furrowed  the  lonely 
waters  of  the  Mediterranean. 

You  turn  to  Homer — some  of  you  did  in  your  school  days,  even  if 

you  do  not  now  [laughter] — and  you  will  see  that  he  spoke,  not  of  the 

literranean  but  of  one  corner  of  the  Egean  only,  as  a  limitless  waste 

of  water  which  no  one  had  traversed.     There  is  now  no  nook  of  the 

earth  that  we  are  not  searching. 

(4) 


Address  by  the  President 


When  our  forefathers  met  in  Independence  Hall,  the  differences  were 
those  of  degrees,  not  of  kind,  and  they  were  not  in  all  cases  even  those 
of  degree.  Mining  was  carried  on  fundamentally  as  it  had  been  carried 
on  by  the  Pharaohs  in  the  countries  adjacent  to  the  Red  Sea.  Explorers 
now-a-days  by  the  shores  of  the  Red  Sea  strike  countries  that  they  call 
new,  but  they  find  in  them  mines,  with  sculptures  of  the  Pharaohs,  show- 
ing that  those  mines  were  worked  out  and  exhausted  thousands  of  years 
before  the  Christian  era. 

In  1776  the  wares  of  the  merchants  of  Boston,  of  Charleston,  like  the 
wares  of  the  merchants  of  Nineveh  and  Sidon,  if  they  went  by  water, 
were  carried  by  boats  propelled  by  sails  or  oars;  if  they  went  by  land 
were  carried  in  wagons  drawn  by  beasts  of  draft  or  in  packs  on  the  backs 
of  beasts  of  burden.  The  ships  that  crossed  the  high  seas  were  better 
than  the  ships  that  three  thousand  years  before  crossed  the  Egean,  but 
they  were  of  the  same  type,  after  all — they  were  wooden  ships  pro- 
pelled by  sails.  There  the  difference  was  one  of  degree  in  our  favor. 
On  shore  the  difference  was  one  of  degree  against  us,  for  on  land  the  roads, 
at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  when  this  country  became  a  nation, 
were  not  as  good  as  the  roads  of  the  Roman  Empire,  while  the  service 
of  the  posts,  at  any  rate  prior  to  the  days  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  was 
probably  inferior.  In  the  previous  eighteen  hundred  years  there  had 
been  a  retrogression  in  roads  and  in  postal  service. 

In  Washington's  time  anthracite  coal  was  known  only  as  a  useless 
black  stone;  and  the  great  fields  of  bituminous  coal  were  undiscovered. 
As  steam  was  unknown,  the  use  of  coal  for  power  production  was  un- 
dreamed of.  Water  was  practically  the  only  source  of  power,  save  the 
labor  of  men  and  animals;  and  this  power  was  used  only  in  the  most 
primitive  fashion.  But  a  few  small  iron  deposits  had  been  found  in  this 
country,  and  the  use  of  iron  by  our  countrymen  was  very  small.  Wood 
was  practically  the  only  fuel,  and  what  lumber  was  sawed  was  consumed 
locally,  while  the  forests  were  regarded  chiefly  as  obstructions  to  settle- 
ment and  cultivation.  The  man  who  cut  down  a  tree  was  held  to  have 
conferred  a  service  upon  his  fellows. 

Such  was  the  degree  of  progress  to  which  civilized  mankind  had 
attained  when  this  nation  began  its  career.  It  is  almost  impossible  for 
us  in  this  day  to  realize  how  little  our  Revolutionary  ancestors  knew  of 
the  great  store  of  natural  resources  whose  discovery  and  use  have  been 
such  vital  factors  in  the  growth  and  greatness  of  this  Nation,  and  how 
little  they  required  to  take  from  this  store  in  order  to  satisfy  their  needs.' 

Since  then  our  knowledge  and  use  of  the  resources  of  the  present 
territory  of  the  United  States  have  increased  a  hundred-fold.  Indeed, 
the  growth  of  this  Nation  by  leaps  and  bounds  makes  one  of  the  most 
striking  and  important  chapters  in  the  history  of  the  world.  Its  growth 
has  been  due  to  the  rapid  development,  and  alas  that  it  should  be  said! 

(5) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


to  the  rapid  destruction,  of  our  natural  resources.  Nature  has  supplied 
to  us  in  the  United  States,  and  still  supplies  to  us,  more  kinds  of  resources 
in  a  more  lavish  degree  than  has  ever  been  the  case  at  any  other  time  or 
with  any  other  people.  Our  position  in  the  world  has  been  attained  by 
the  extent  and  thoroughness  of  the  control  we  have  achieved  over 
nature;  but  we  are  more,  and  not  less,  dependent  upon  what  she  furnishes 
than  at  any  previous  time  of  history  since  the  days  of  primitive  man. 

Yet  our  fathers,  though  they  knew  so  little  of  the  resources  of  the 
country,  exercised  a  wise  forethought  in  reference  thereto.  Washington 
clearly  saw  that  the  perpetuity  of  the  States  could  only  be  secured  by 
union,  and  that  the  only  feasible  basis  of  union  was  an  economic  one; 
in  other  words,  that  it  must  be  based  on  the  development  and  use  of 
their  natural  resources.  Accordingly,  he  helped  to  outline  a  scheme  of 
commercial  development,  and  by  his  influence  an  interstate  waterways 
commission  was  appointed  by  Virginia  and  Maryland. 

It  met  near  where  we  are  now  meeting,  in  Alexandria,  adjourned  to 
Mount  Vernon,  and  took  up  the  consideration  of  interstate  commerce  by 
the  only  means  then  available,  that  of  water;  and  the  trouble  we  have 
since  had  with  the  railways  has  been  mainly  due  to  the  fact  that  naturally 
our  forefathers  could  not  divine  that  the  iron  road  would  become  the 
interstate  and  international  highway,  instead  of  the  old  route  by  water. 
Further  conferences  were  arranged,  first  at  Annapolis,  and  then  at  Phila- 
delphia. It  was  in  Philadelphia  that  the  representatives  of  all  the  States 
met  for  what  was  in  its  original  conception  merely  a  waterways  con- 
ference; but  when  they  had  closed  their  deliberations  the  outcome  was 
the  Constitution  which  made  the  States  into  a  Nation.     [Applause] 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  thus  grew  in  large  part  out  of 
the  necessity  for  united  action  in  the  wise  use  of  one  of  our  natural 
resources.  The  wise  use  of  all  of  our  natural  resources,  which  are  our 
national  resources  as  well,  is  the  great  material  question  of  today.  I 
have  asked  you  to  come  together  now  because  the  enormous  consumption 
of  these  resources,  and  the  threat  of  imminent  exhaustion  of  some  of 
them,  due  to  reckless  and  wasteful  use,  once  more  calls  for  common 
effort,  common  action. 

We  want  to  take  action  that  will  prevent  the  advent  of  a  woodless 
age,  and  defer  as  long  as  possible  the  advent  of  an  ironless  age.  [Ap- 
plause] 

Since  the  days  when  the  Constitution  was  adopted,  steam  and  elec- 
tricity have  revolutionized  the  industrial  world.  Nowhere  has  the 
revolution  been  so  great  as  in  our  own  country.  The  discovery  and 
utilization  of  mineral  fuels  and  alloys  have  given  us  the  lead  over  all 
Other  nations  in  the  production  of  steel.  Tin-  discovery  and  utilization 
of  coal  and  iron  ha\  i  □  us  our  railways,  and  have  led  to  such  indus- 

trial development  as  has  never  before  been  seen.    The  vast  wealth  of 

(6) 


Address  by  the  President 


lumber  in  our  forests,  the  riches  of  our  soils  and  mines,  the  discovery  of 
gold  and  mineral  oils,  combined  with  the  efficiency  of  our  transporta- 
tion, have  made  the  conditions  of  our  life  unparalleled  in  comfort  and 
convenience. 

A  great  many  of  these  things  are  truisms.  Much  of  what  I  say  is 
so  familiar  to  us  that  it  seems  commonplace  to  repeat  it;  but  familiar 
though  it  is,  I  do  not  think  as  a  nation  we  understand  what  its  real 
bearing  is.     It  is  so  familiar  that  we  disregard  it.     [Applause] 

The  steadily  increasing  drain  on  these  natural  resources  has  promoted 
to  an  extraordinary  degree  the  complexity  of  our  industrial  and  social 
life.  Moreover,  this  unexampled  development  has  had  a  determining 
effect  upon  the  character  and  opinions  of  our  people.  The  demand  for 
efficiency  in  the  great  task  has  given  us  vigor,  effectiveness,  decision, 
and  power,  and  a  capacity  for  achievement  which  in  its  own  lines  has 
never  yet  been  matched.  [Applause]  So  great  and  so  rapid  has  been 
our  material  growth  that  there  has  been  a  tendency  to  lag  behind  in 
spiritual  and  moral  growth  [laughter  and  applause];  but  that  is  not  the 
subject  upon  which  I  speak  to  you  today. 

Disregarding  for  the  moment  the  question  of  moral  purpose,  it  is  safe 
to  say  that  the  prosperity  of  our  people  depends  directly  on  the  energy 
and  intelligence  with  which  our  natural  resources  are  used.  It  is  equally 
clear  that  these  resources  are  the  final  basis  of  national  power  and  per- 
petuity. Finally,  it  is  ominously  evident  that  these  resources  are  in 
the  course  of  rapid  exhaustion. 

This  Nation  began  with  the  belief  that  its  landed  possessions  were 
illimitable  and  capable  of  supporting  all  the  people  who  might  care  to 
make  our  country  their  home;  but  already  the  limit  of  unsettled  land 
is  in  sight,  and  indeed  but  little  land  fitted  for  agriculture  now  remains 
unoccupied  save  what  can  be  reclaimed  by  irrigation  and  drainage — a 
subject  with  which  this  Conference  is  partly  to  deal.  We  began  with 
an  unapproached  heritage  of  forests;  more  than  half  of  the  timber  is 
gone.  We  began  with  coal  fields  more  extensive  than  those  of  any 
other  nation  and  with  iron  ores  regarded  as  inexhaustible,  and  many 
experts  now  declare  that  the  end  of  both  iron  and  coal  is  in  sight. 

The  mere  increase  in  our  consumption  of  coal  during  1907  over  1906 
exceeded  the  total  consumption  in  1876,  the  Centennial  year.  This  is 
a  striking  fact:  Thirty  years  went  by,  and  the  mere  surplus  of  use  of 
one  year  over  the  preceding  year  exceeded  all  that  was  used  in  1876 — 
and  we  thought  we  were  pretty  busy  people  even  then.  The  enormous 
stores  of  mineral  oil  and  gas  are  largely  gone ;  and  those  Governors  who 
have  in  their  States  cities  built  up  by  natural  gas,  where  the  natural  gas 
has  since  been  exhausted,  can  tell  us  something  of  what  that  means. 
Our  natural  waterways  are  not  gone,  but  they  have  been  so  injured  by 


(7) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

o 

neglect,  and  by  the  division  of  responsibility  and  utter  lack  of  system 
in  dealing  with  them,  that  there  is  less  navigation  on  them  now  than 
there  was  fifty  years  ago.  Finally,  we  began  with  soils  of  unexampled 
fertility,  and  we  have  so  impoverished  them  by  injudicious  use  and  by 
failing  to  check  erosion  that  their  crop-producing  power  is  diminishing 
instead  of  increasing.  In  a  word,  we  have  thoughtlessly,  and  to  a  large 
degree  unnecessarily,  diminished  the  resources  upon  which  not  only  our 
prosperity  but  the  prosperity  of  our  children  and  our  children's  chil- 
dren must  always  depend. 

We  have  become  great  in  a  material  sense  because  of  the  lavish  use  of 
our  resources,  and  we  have  just  reason  to  be  proud  of  our  growth.  But 
the  time  has  come  to  inquire  seriously  what  will  happen  when  our  for- 
ests are  gone,  when  the  coal,  the  iron,  the  oil,  and  the  gas  are  exhausted, 
when  the  soils  shall  have  been  still  further  impoverished  and  washed 
into  the  streams,  polluting  the  rivers,  denuding  the  fields,  and  obstruct- 
ing navigation.  These  questions  do  not  relate  only  to  the  next  century 
or  to  the  next  generation.  One  distinguishing  characteristic  of  really 
civilized  men  is  foresight;  we  have  to,  as  a  nation,  exercise  foresight 
for  this  nation  in  the  future;  and  if  we  do  not  exercise  that  foresight, 
dark  will  be  the  future!  [Applause]  We  should  exercise  foresight  now, 
as  the  ordinarily  prudent  man  exercises  foresight  in  conserving  and 
wisely  using  the  property  which  contains  the  assurance  of  well-being 
for  himself  and  his  children.  We  want  to  see  a  man  own  his  farm 
rather  than  rent  it,  because  we  want  to  see  it  an  object  to  him  to  trans- 
fer it  in  better  order  to  his  children.  We  want  to  see  him  exercise  fore- 
thought for  the  next  generation.  We  need  to  exercise  it  in  some  fashion 
ourselves  as  a  nation  for  the  next  generation. 

The  natural  resources  I  have  enumerated  can  be  divided  into  two 
sharply  distinguished  classes  accordingly  as  they  are  or  are  not  capable 
of  renewal.  Mines  if  used  must  necessarily  be  exhausted.  The  min- 
erals do  not  and  can  not  renew  themselves.  Therefore  in  dealing  with 
the  coal,  the  oil,  the  gas,  the  iron,  the  metals  generally,  all  that  we  can 
do  is  to  try  to  see  that  they  are  wisely  used.  The  exhaustion  is  certain 
to  come  in  time.  We  can  trust  that  it  will  be  deferred  long  enough  to 
enable  the  extraordinarily  inventive  genius  of  our  people  to  devise 
means  and  methods  for  more  or  less  adequately  replacing  what  is  lost; 
but  the  exhaustion  is  sure  to  come. 

The  second  class  of  resources  consists  of  those  which  can  not  only  be 
used  in  such  manner  as  to  leave  them  undiminished  for  our  children, 
but  can  actually  he  improved  by  wise  use.  The  soil,  the  forests,  the 
waterways  conn-  in  this  category.  Every  one  knows  that  a  really  good 
farmer  leaves  his  farm  more  valuable  at  the  end  of  his  life  than  it  was 
when  he  first  took  hold  <>f  it.  So  with  the  waterways.  So  with  the 
forests.      In  dealing  with  mineral  resources,  man  is  able  to  improve  on 


Address  by  the  President 


nature  only  by  putting  the  resources  to  a  beneficial  use  which  in  the 
end  exhausts  them;  but  in  dealing  with  the  soil  and  its  products  man 
can  improve  on  nature  by  compelling  the  resources  to  renew  and  even 
reconstruct  themselves  in  such  manner  as  to  serve  increasingly  bene- 
ficial uses — while  the  living  waters  can  be  so  controlled  as  to  multiply 
their  benefits. 

Neither  the  primitive  man  nor  the  pioneer  was  aware  of  any  duty  to 
posterity  in  dealing  with  the  renewable  resources.  When  the  American 
settler  felled  the  forests,  he  felt  that  there  was  plenty  of  forest  left  for 
the  sons  who  came  after  him.  When  he  exhausted  the  soil  of  his  farm, 
he  felt  that  his  son  could  go  West  and  take  up  another.  The  Kentuckian 
or  the  Ohioan  felled  the  forest  and  expected  his  son  to  move  west  and 
fell  other  forests  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi ;  the  Georgian  exhausted 
his  farm  and  moved  into  Alabama  or  to  the  mouth  of  the  Yazoo  to  take 
another.  So  it  was  with  his  immediate  successors.  When  the  soil-wash 
from  the  farmer's  field  choked  the  neighboring  river,  the  only  thought 
was  to  use  the  railway  rather  than  the  boats  to  move  produce  and 
supplies.     That  was  so  up  to  the  generation  that  preceded  ours. 

Now  all  this  is  changed.  On  the  average  the  son  of  the  farmer  of 
today  must  make  his  living  on  his  father's  farm.  There  is  no  difficulty 
in  doing  this  if  the  father  will  exercise  wisdom.  No  wise  use  of  a  farm 
exhausts  its  fertility.  So  with  the  forests.  We  are  over  the  verge  of  a 
timber  famine  in  this  country,  and  it  is  unpardonable  for  the  Nation  or 
the  States  to  permit  any  further  cutting  of  our  timber  save  in  accordance 
with  a  system  which  will  provide  that  the  next  generation  shall  see  the 
timber  increased  instead  of  diminished.     [Applause] 

Just  let  me  interject  one  word  as  to  a  particular  type  of  folly  of  which 
it  ought  not  to  be  necessary  to  speak.  We  stop  wasteful  cutting  of 
timber;  that  of  course  makes  a  slight  shortage  at  the  moment.  To 
avoid  that  slight  shortage  at  the  moment,  there  are  certain  people  so 
foolish  that  they  will  incur  absolute  shortage  in  the  future,  and  they  are 
willing  to  stop  all  attempts  to  conserve  the  forests,  because  of  course  by 
wastefully  using  them  at  the  moment  we  can  for  a  year  or  two  provide 
against  any  lack  of  wood.  That  is  like  providing  for  the  farmer's  family 
to  live  sumptuously  on  the  flesh  of  the  milch  cow.  [Laughter.]  Any 
farmer  can  live  pretty  well  for  a  year  if  he  is  content  not  to  live  at  all 
the  year  after.     [Laughter  and  applause] 

We  can,  moreover,  add  enormous  tracts  of  the  most  valuable  possible 
agricultural  land  to  the  national  domain  by  irrigation  in  the  arid  and 
semi-arid  regions,  and  by  drainage  of  great  tracts  of  swamp  land  in  the 
humid  regions.  We  can  enormously  increase  our  transportation  facilities 
by  the  canalization  of  our  rivers  so  as  to  complete  a  great  system  of 
waterways  on  the  Pacific,  Atlantic,  and  Gulf  coasts  and  in  the  Missis- 
sippi Valley,  from  the  Great  Plains  to  the  Alleghenies,  and  from  the 

(9) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

northern  lakes  to  the  mouth  of  the  mighty  Father  of  Waters.  But  all 
these  various  uses  of  our  natural  resources  are  so  closely  connected  that 
they  should  be  coordinated,  and  should  be  treated  as  part  of  one  coherent 
plan  and  not  in  haphazard  and  piecemeal  fashion. 

It  is  largely  because  of  this  that  I  appointed  the  Waterways  Com- 
mission last  year,  and  that  I  sought  to  perpetuate  its  work.  There  are 
members  of  the  coordinate  branch  present.  The  reason  this  meeting 
takes  place  is  because  we  had  that  waterways  commission  last  year.  I 
had  to  prosecute  the  work  by  myself.  I  have  asked  Congress  to  pass  a 
bill  giving  some  small  sum  of  money  for  the  perpetuation  of  that  Com- 
mission. If  Congress  does  not  act,  I  will  perpetuate  the  Commission 
anyway,  [Great  applause]  but  of  course  it  is  a  great  deal  better  that 
Congress  should  act;  [Applause]  it  enables  the  work  to  be  more  effectively 
done.     I  hope  there  will  be  action.     But  the  Commission  will  go  ahead. 

I  wish  to  take  this  opportunity  to  express  in  heartiest  fashion  my 
acknowledgment  to  all  the  members  of  the  Commission.  At  great 
personal  sacrifice  of  time  and  effort  they  have  rendered  a  service  to  the 
public  for  which  we  can  not  be  too  grateful.  Especial  credit  is  due  to 
the  initiative,  the  energy,  the  devotion  to  duty,  and  the  farsightedness 
of  Gifford  Pinchot,  [Great  applause]  to  whom  we  owe  so  much  of  the 
progress  we  have  already  made  in  handling  this  matter  of  the  coordina- 
tion and  conservation  of  natural  resources.  If  it  had  not  been  for  him 
this  convention  neither  would  nor  could  have  been  called. 

We  are  coming  to  recognize  as  never  before  the  right  of  the  Nation  to 
guard  its  own  future  in  the  essential  matter  of  natural  resources.  In 
the  past  we  have  admitted  the  right  of  the  individual  to  injure  the  future 
of  the  Republic  for  his  own  present  profit.  In  fact  there  has  been  a  good 
deal  of  a  demand  for  unrestricted  individualism,  for  the  right  of  the 
individual  to  injure  the  future  of  all  of  us  for  his  own  temporary  and 
immediate  profit.  The  time  has  come  for  a  change.  As  a  people  we 
have  the  right  and  the  duty,  second  to  none  other  but  the  right  and 
duty  of  obeying  the  moral  law,  of  requiring  and  doing  justice,  to  protect 
ourselves  and  our  children  against  the  wasteful  development  of  our 
natural  resources,  whether  that  waste  is  caused  by  the  actual  destruc- 
tion of  such  resources  or  by  making  them  impossible  of  development 
hereafter. 

Any  right  thinking  father  earnestly  desires  and  strives  to  leave  his 
son  both  an  untarnished  name  and  a  reasonable  equipment  for  the 
struggle  of  life.  So  this  Nation  as  a  whole  should  earnestly  desire  and 
strive  to  leave  to  the  next  generation  the  national  honor  unstained  and 
the  national  resources  unexhausted.  There  are  signs  that  both  the 
Nation  and  the  Stair,  are  waking  to  a  realization  of  this  great  truth- 
On  March  io,  1908,  the  Supreme  Court  of  Maine  rendered  an  exceed. 
ingly    important   judicial   decision.     This   opinion   was   rendered    in    re- 

(10) 


Address  by  the  President 


sponse  to  questions  as  to  the  right  of  the  Legislature  to  restrict  the  cut- 
ting of  trees  on  private  land  for  the  prevention  of  droughts  and  floods, 
the  preservation  of  the  natural  water  supply,  and  the  prevention  of  the 
erosion  of  such  lands,  and  the  consequent  filling  up  of  rivers,  ponds,  and 
lakes.  The  forests  and  water  power  of  Maine  constitute  the  larger  part 
of  her  wealth  and  form  the  basis  of  her  industrial  life,  and  the  question 
submitted  by  the  Maine  Senate  to  the  Supreme  Court  and  the  answer  of 
the  Supreme  Court  alike  bear  testimony  to  the  wisdom  of  the  people  of 
Maine,  and  clearly  define  a  policy  of  conservation  of  natural  resources, 
the  adoption  of  which  is  of  vital  importance  not  merely  to  Maine  but  to 
the  whole  country.     [Applause] 

Such  a  policy  will  preserve  soil,  forests,  water  power  as  a  heritage  for 
the  children  and  the  children's  children  of  the  men  and  women  of  this 
generation;  for  any  enactment  that  provides  for  the  wise  utilization  of 
the  forests,  whether  in  public  or  private  ownership,  and  for  the  conser- 
vation of  the  water  resources  of  the  country,  must  necessarily  be  legis- 
lation that  will  promote  both  private  and  public  welfare;  for  flood 
prevention,  water-power  development,  preservation  of  the  soil,  and  im- 
provement of  navigable  rivers  are  all  promoted  by  such  a  policy  of  forest 
conservation. 

The  opinion  of  the  Maine  Supreme  Bench  sets  forth  unequivocally  the 
principle  that  the  property  rights  of  the  individual  are  subordinate  to 
the  rights  of  the  community,  and  especially  that  the  waste  of  wild  tim- 
ber land  derived  originally  from  the  State,  involving  as  it  would  the 
impoverishment  of  the  State  and  its  People  and  thereby  defeating  a 
great  purpose  of  government,  may  properly  be  prevented  by  State 
restrictions. 

The  Court  says  that  there  are  two  reasons  why  the  right  of  the  public 
to  control  and  limit  the  use  of  private  property  is  peculiarly  applicable 
to  property  in  land : 

First,  such  property  is  not  the  result  of  productive  labor,  but  is  derived  solely  from 
the  State  itself,  the  original  owner;  second,  the  amount  of  land  being  incapable  of 
increase,  if  the  owners  of  large  tracts  can  waste  them  at  will  without  State  restric- 
tion, the  State  and  its  people  may  be  helplessly  impoverished  and  one  great  purpose 
of  government  defeated.  *  *  *  We  do  not  think  the  proposed  legislation  would 
operate  to  "take"  private  property  within  the  inhibition  of  the  Constitution.  While 
it  might  restrict  the  owner  of  wild  and  uncultivated  lands  in  his  use  of  them,  might 
delay  his  taking  some  of  the  product,  might  delay  his  anticipated  profits  and  even 
thereby  might  cause  him  some  loss  of  profit,  it  would  nevertheless  leave  him  his  lands, 
their  product  and  increase,  untouched,  and  without  diminution  of  title,  estate,  or 
quantity.  He  would  still  have  large  measure  of  control  and  large  opportunity  to 
realize  values.  He  might  suffer  delay  but  not  deprivation.  *  *  *  The  pro- 
posed legislation  *  *  *  would  be  within  the  legislative  power  and  would  not 
operate  as  a  taking  of  private  property  for  which  compensation  must  be  made. 


(ii) 
56254 — 09 4 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

The  Court  of  Errors  and  Appeals  of  New  Jersey  has  adopted  a  similar 

view,  which  has  recently  been  sustained  by  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 

United  States.     In  delivering  the  opinion  of  the  Court  on  April  6,  1908, 

Mr.  Justice  Holmes  said : 

The  State  as  quasi  sovereign  and  representative  of  the  interests  of  the  public  has 
a  standing  in  court  to  protect  the  atmosphere,  the  water,  and  the  forests  within  its 
territory,  irrespective  of  the  assent  or  dissent  of  the  private  owners  of  the  land  most 
immediately  concerned.  *  *  *  *  It  appears  to  us  that  few  public  interests  are 
more  obvious,  indisputable  and  independent  of  particular  theory  than  the  interest  of 
the  public  of  a  State  to  maintain  the  rivers  that  are  wholly  within  it  substantially 
undiminished,  except  by  such  drafts  upon  them  as  the  guardian  of  the  public  welfare 
may  permit  for  the  purpose  of  turning  them  to  a  more  perfect  use. 

[Applause] 

This  public  interest  is  omnipresent  wherever  there  is  a  State,  and  grows  more  press- 
ing as  population  grows. 

Xot  as  a  dictum  of  law,  which  I  cannot  make,  but  as  a  dictum  of 
morals,  I  wish  to  say  that  this  applies  to  more  than  the  forests  and 
streams.     [Laughter  and  applause]     The  learned  Justice  proceeds: 

We  are  of  opinion,  further,  that  the  constitutional  power  of  the  State  to  insist  that 
its  natural  advantages  shall  remain  unimpaired  by  its  citizens  is  not  dependent  upon 
any  nice  estimate  of  the  extent  of  present  use  or  speculation  as  to  future  needs.  The 
legal  conception  of  the  necessary  is  apt  to  be  confined  to  somewhat  rudimentary 
wants,  and  there  are  benefits  from  a  great  river  that  might  escape  a  lawyer's  view. 

[Laughter]     I  have  simply  quoted.     [Laughter] 

But  the  State  is  not  required  to  submit  even  to  an  esthetic  analysis.  Any  analysis 
may  be  inadequate.  It  finds  itself  in  possession  of  what  all  admit  to  be  a  great 
public  good,  and  what  it  has  it  may  keep  and  give  no  one  a  reason  for  its  will. 

These  decisions  reach  the  root  of  the  idea  of  conservation  of  our  re- 
sources in  the  interests  of  our  people. 

Finally,  let  us  remember  that  the  conservation  of  our  natural  resources, 
though  the  gravest  problem  of  today,  is  yet  but  part  of  another  and 
greater  problem  to  which  this  Nation  is  not  yet  awake,  but  to  which  it 
will  awake  in  time,  and  with  which  it  must  hereafter  grapple  if  it  is  to 
live — the  problem  of  national  efficiency,  the  patriotic  duty  of  insuring 
the  safety  and  continuance  of  the  Nation.  [Applause.]  When  the 
People  of  the  United  States  consciously  undertake  to  raise  themselves 
as  citizens,  and  the  Nation  and  the  States  in  their  several  spheres,  to 
the  highest  pitch  of  excellence  in  private,  State,  and  national  life,  and 
to  do  this  because  it  is  the  first  of  all  the  duties  of  true  patriotism,  then 
and  not  till  then  tin-  future-  of  this  Nation,  in  quality  and  in  time,  will 
be  assured.     [Great  applause] 


After  the  Conclusion  of  tin-  opening  address   (the   1'resident  being  in 

the  chair),  Captain  McCoy,  Aide  to  the  President,  requested  the  Con- 
ferees to  pass  through   the  main  entrance  in  order  that   the    President 


Address  by  the  President 


might  have  the  pleasure  of  greeting  them  personally;  also  that  the  Vice- 
President,  the  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court,  the  Cabinet,  the  Governors 
of  the  States  and  other  dinner  guests  of  the  evening  before,  including  the 
members  of  the  Inland  Waterways  Commission,  should  pass  into  the 
Blue  Drawing  Room  before  leaving  the  building. 

The  President:  Information  concerning  the  arrangements  for  the 
Conference  and  the  entertainment  of  members  can  be  obtained  from 
Dr  W  J  McGee,  the  Secretary  of  the  Inland  Waterways  Commission,  or 
from  Mr  Thomas  R.  Shipp,  the  General  Secretary  of  the  Conference.  ' 

In  view  of  the  large  number  of  topics  to  be  considered  and  the  need 
of  several  of  the  Governors  to  be  home  soon  as  possible,  the  special 
statements  by  experts  should  be  limited  to  twenty  minutes,  and  ex  tem- 
pore discussion  to  ten  minutes,  unless  it  is  extended  by  the  Governors 
themselves.  A  bell  will  ring  once  three  minutes  before  the  end  of  the 
time,  and  twice  when  the  time  has  expired. 

The  Proceedings  of  the  Conference  will  be  recorded,  and  published  in 
full;  but  it  might  be  desirable  to  summarize  some  of  the  results.  I 
would  be  glad,  if  the  Governors  see  fit,  to  provide  for  a  Committee  on 
Resolutions  to  formulate  general  conclusions,  should  that  meet  with  your 
approval.  If  you  see  fit  to  appoint  such  a  committee,  I  think  it  should 
be  appointed  at  the  opening  of  the  Second  (or  afternoon)  Session.  I  make 
the  suggestion  to  you  simply  as  a  suggestion,  so  that  you  may  have 
something  to  work  on.  For  the  same  purpose,  I  suggest  that  Governors 
Blanchard,  of  Louisiana,  Fort,  of  New  Jersey,  Cutler,  of  Utah,  Davidson, 
of  Wisconsin,  and  Ansel,  of  South  Carolina,  might  be  named  as  such  a 
committee.  Those  names  have  been  suggested  to  me  by  various  gov- 
ernors and  others  present.  I  simply  put  them  before  you  for  your  con- 
sideration; you  can  of  course  name  any  committee  you  may  desire. 
Resolutions  should  be  referred  to  the  committee  without  discussion,  the 
discussion  to  follow  the  committee's  report  upon  them. 

Governor  Johnson:  Mr  President,  following  your  suggestion,  I  would 
move,  if  it  is  proper  at  this  time,  that  the  committee  suggested  by  your- 
self be  made  the  Committee  on  Resolutions  of  this  Conference. 
The  motion  was  seconded  by  several  Governors. 

The  President:   Gentlemen,  you  have  heard  the  motion,  which  has 
been  seconded.     Is  any  other  motion  offered,  or  is  debate  desired? 

On  demand  for  the  question  a  viva  voce  vote  was  taken,  and  the 
motion  was  agreed  to  without  dissenting  voice. 

Governor  Noel:  I  move  that  the  second  suggestion,  that  all  resolutions 
shall  be  referred  to  this  Committee  without  debate,  be  adopted. 

The  motion  was  seconded;  and  the  question  being  demanded,  the  mo- 
tion was  put  and  was  agreed  to  without  dissent. 

The  President:  Gentlemen,  I  shall  now  have  the  pleasure  of  meeting 
you  personally  as  you  pass  through  the  Blue  Room. 
So  the  Conference  rose  at  12.05  P-  m- 

(13) 


Second  Session 

The  Conference  was  called  to  order  by  the  President  at  2:40  oclock 
p.  m.  (May  13). 

The  President:  If  Governor  Johnson  is  to  be  here  tomorrow  morn- 
ing, I  should  like  to  have  him  preside  after  I  leave  the  Chair. 

Governor  Johnson  :  Thank  you,  sir.     [Applause] 

The  President  :  The  Conferees,  I  am  sure,  would  like  to  hear  anything 
that  Mr  Bryan  might  care  to  say  on  the  subject  before  us.  [Applause, 
during  which  Mr  Bryan  communicated  directly  with  the  President.] 

Mr  Bryan  informs  me  he  would  prefer  to  wait  until  the  close  of  the 
formal  discussions,  and  that  then  he  will  address  you. 

Gentlemen,  as  you  will,  I  am  sure,  understand,  it  is  not  in  my  power 
to  remain  present  during  the  entire  Conference.  I  have  a  good  deal  to  do. 
I  will  open  each  session,  and  after  the  opening  paper  has  been  read,  I 
will  ask  the  Governor  who  is  with  me  to  preside  over  the  conference.  In 
this  case,  Governor  Noel  of  Mississippi  will  occupy  the  Chair.  [Applause] 

The  first  Opening  Statement  will  be  on  the  conservation  of  ores  and 
related  minerals,  by  Mr  Carnegie.     [Applause] 


THE  CONSERVATION  OF  ORES  AND  RELATED  MINERALS 

Andrew  Carnegie 


Mr  President  and  Governors : 

You  have  begun  to  make  history  today,  for  never  before  has  the 
National  Governor  called  all  the  State  Governors  into  conference.  The 
I 'resident  has  acted  upon  the  axiom  that  while  it  is  well  to  follow  good 
precedents,  it  is  better  to  make  them.  Washington  in  1785  invited  the 
Commissioners  of  Maryland  and  Virginia  to  Mount  Vernon  when  they 
conferred  at  Alexandria  upon  the  joint  regulation  of  the  Potomac.  This 
was  the  fij  hi  revelation  of  the  important  interstate  problems  which 

lie  imbedded  in  our  Federal  system.  It  is  no  new  question  with  which 
you  have  to  deal.  My  province  today  is  to  ask  your  attention  to  t lie- 
situation  as  affected  by  our  mineral  supplies,  chiefly  iron  and  coal. 

Bui  It  t  me  first  state  thai  for  all  the  data,  fads,  and  much  else  used 
in  this  address  I  am  indebted  to  Government  officials  of  the  Geological 

(14) 


Address  by  Andrew  Carnegie 


Survey  and  other  scientific  bureaus,  the  extent  and  variety  of  whose 
knowledge  have  much  impressed  me,  although  I  have  long  known  that  our 
Government  is  celebrated  for  the  range  and  thoroughness  of  its  investi- 
gations and  the  amount  of  statistical  information  it  has  acquired  and 
keeps  up  to  date  regarding  the  nation  and  people.  I  have  heard  more 
than  one  prominent  public  man  of  other  lands  express  admiration  for 
our  governmental  reports.     [Applause] 

Of  all  the  world's  metals,  iron  is  in  our  day  the  most  useful.  The 
opening  of  the  Iron  Age  marked  the  beginning  of  real  industrial  develop- 
ment. The  mining  of  copper*  and  tin  and  the  making  of  bronze  imple- 
ments closed  the  Stone  Age  in  Europe  and  Asia,  but  it  was  not  until  the 
smelting  of  iron  started  in  Africa  and  spread  to  Europe  that  industrial 
progress  began;  in  all  countries  the  highest  civilization  has  followed  the 
use  of  iron  in  the  arts  and  crafts.  Today  the  position  of  nations  may 
almost  be  measured  by  its  production  and  use. 

Iron  and  coal  form  the  foundation  of  our  industrial  prosperity.  The 
value  of  each  depends  upon  the  amount  and  nearness  of  the  other.  In 
modern  times  the  manufacturing  and  transportation  industries  rest  upon 
them;  and,  given  sufficient  land  area  and  fertile  soil,  these  determine  the 
progress  of  any  people.  When  the  United  States  entered  upon  its  unex- 
ampled career  the  extent  and  value  of  our  deposits  of  iron  and  coal  were 
unknown.  It  was  only  through  the  growth  of  population,  increase  of 
knowledge,  and  invention,  that  they  gained  such  value  as  to  render 
their  quantity  an  important  public  question. 

Iron  smelting  began  with  charcoal  made  in  neighboring  forests.  Elec- 
trical smelting  by  means  of  waterpower  has  only  recently  been  tried. 
Today  the  reduction  of  our  ores  and  the  manufacture  of  iron  practically 
rest  upon  the  extent  and  availability  of  our  coal. 

When  the  Republic  was  founded,  there  were,  according  to  recent  ex- 
pert estimates,  approximately  2,000,000,000,000  tons  of  coal  in  the  terri- 
tory now  forming  the  United  States.  Practically  none  of  this  supply 
was  used  for  over  a  quarter-century;  but  during  the  75  years  from  1820 
to  1895  nearly  4,000,000,000  tons  were  mined  by  methods  so  wasteful 
that  some  6,000,000,000  tons  were  either  destroyed  or  allowed  to  remain 
in  the  ground,  forever  inaccessible.  During  the  10  years  from  1896  to 
1906  as  much  was  produced  as  during  the  preceding  75  years;  while  more 
than  3,000,000,000  tons  were  destroyed  or  left  in  the  ground  beyond 
reach  of  future  use.  To  date  the  actual  consumption  of  coal  has  been 
over  7,500,000,000  tons;  the  waste  and  destruction  in  the  neighborhood 
of  9,000,000,000  tons.  If  mining  were  perfected  from  now  forward,  we 
might  reckon  that  considerably  less  than  1%  of  our  original  stock  has 
been  consumed;  but  estimating  on  the  basis  of  the  wasteful  methods 
hitherto  pursued,  nearly  2%  of  our  available  supply  is  gone. 

(15) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


Coal  consumption  is  increasing  at  an  astonishing  rate.  During  the 
period  for  which  statistics  have  been  gathered,  it  has  doubled  in 
each  decade;  of  late  it  has  more  than  doubled.  In  1907  the  production 
was  about  450,000,000  tons.  At  the  present  rate  of  increase  the  pro- 
duction in  1 917  will  be  900,000,000  tons,  in  1927  1,800,000,000  tons, 
and  in  1937  over  3,500,000,000  tons,  or  an  amount  in  that  year  alone 
nearlv  equal  to  the  production  of  the  75  years  ending  in  1895;  and  with 
continuation  of  the  wasteful  methods  of  mining,  the  consumption  and 
destruction  together  during  that  one  year  would  equal  our  total  useful 
production  up  to  the  present  date.  And  at  that  time — which  many  of 
us  will  live  to  see — more  than  an  eighth  of  our  estimated  original  supply 
will  have  been  consumed  or  destroyed. 

All  estimates  of  future  consumption  and  destruction  of  coal  are  liable 
to  error;  yet  making  all  reasonable  allowance,  unless  there  be  careful 
husbanding,  or  revolutionizing  inventions,  or  some  industrial  revolution 
comes  which  can  not  now  be  foreseen,  the  greater  part  of  that  estimated 
2,500,000,000,000  tons  of  coal  forming  our  original  heritage  will  be  gone 
before  the  end  of  the  next  century,  say  two  hundred  years  hence. 

To  each  generation  the  ultimate  disappearance  of  coal  is  of  less  con- 
cern than  current  prices.  With  the  working  out  of  seams  and  fields, 
plants  and  transportation  facilities  are  removed  or  abandoned,  and  other 
losses  are  incurred;  and  the  cost  of  these  in  the  end  increases  prices. 
Already  this  is  felt;  it  is  estimated  that  by  reason  of  the  progressive  ex- 
haustion of  American  fields,  coal  consumers  are  today  paying  on  an  aver- 
age 10%  or  15%  more  than  would  be  necessary  if  the  supply  were  un- 
limited— and  the  advance  must  continue  with  each  decade  as  the  supply 
lessens. 

Still  more  wasteful  than  our  processes  of  mining  are  our  methods  of 
consuming  coal.  Of  all  the  coal  burned  in  the  power-plants  of  the  coun- 
try, not  more  than  from  5%  to  10%  of  the  potential  energy  is  actually 
used;  the  remaining  90%  to  95%  is  absorbed  in  rendering  the  smaller 
fraction  available  in  actual  work.  In  direct  heating  the  loss  is  less,  but 
in  electric  heating  and  lighting  it  is  much  more;  indeed,  in  ordinary  elec- 
tric-light plants  hardly  one-fifth  of  one  per  cent — one  five-hundredth 
part — of  tin-  energy  of  the  coal  is  actually  utilized.  There  is  at  present 
no  known  remedy  for  this.  These  wastes  are  not  increasing;  fortunately, 
through  the  development  of  gas-producers,  internal-combustion  engines, 
and  steam  turbines  they  are  constantly  decreasing;  yet  not  so  rapidly  as 
to  affect  seriously  tin-  estimates  of  increase  in  coal  consumption.  We 
are  not  without  hope,  however,  <>t"  discoveries  that  may  yet  enable  man 
to  convert  potential  into  mechanical  energy  direct,  avoiding  this  fearful 
waste.  If  that  d;iv  ever  come,  our  eoal  supply  might  be  considered 
unending. 


Address  by  Andrew  Carnegie 


The  same  spirit  of  recklessness  that  leads  to  waste  in  mining  and  in 
the  consumption  of  coal  leads  to  unnecessary  risk  of  human  life.  During 
the  year  1907  in  the  United  States  the  killed  and  wounded  in  coal  mining 
operations  exceeded  9,000.  The  danger  to  life  and  limb  in  the  mines  is 
increasing  far  more  rapidly  than  production,  because  gas  becomes  more 
abundant  and  the  work  of  rescue  more  difficult  as  the  mines  extend 
deeper  or  farther  from  the  entrance. 

When  the  Republic  was  started  in  1776,  little  iron  was  used.  Each 
family  was  content  with  a  few  score  pounds  in  the  form  of  implements, 
utensils,  and  weapons,  so  that  the  average  annual  consumption  was  but 
a  few  pounds  per  capita.  In  1907  alone  the  production  of  iron  ore  in 
the  United  States  was  53,000,000  tons,  or  more  than  1,200  pounds  for 
each  man,  woman  and  child  of  our  88,000,000  population.  And  the 
production  is  steadily  increasing. 

The  latest  trustworthy  estimates  of  our  present  stock  of  iron  ore  are: 
for  the  Lake  Superior  district,  about  1 ,500,000,000  tons;  for  the  Southern 
district  (including  Alabama,  Georgia,  Tennessee  and  Virginia),  about 
2,500,000,000  tons;  and  for  the  rest  of  the  United  States  5,000,000,000 
to  7,000,000,000  tons — making  an  aggregate  of  about  10,000,000,000  tons. 
Our  highest-grade  ore  is  that  of  the  Lake  Superior  district,  which 
yields  about  four-fifths  of  the  current  production.  In  1905  its  yield 
was  over  33,000,000  tons,  in  1906  some  38,000,000  tons,  and  in  1907 
nearly  44,000,000  tons;  by  the  end  of  the  present  decade  it  will  average 
50,000,000  tons  or  more.  Even  without  further  increase,  the  known 
supply  will  be  exhausted  before  1940.  It  is  true  that  there  are  frequent 
reports  of  new  ore  bodies  in  this  district;  but  on  the  other  hand,  the  old 
bodies  generally  run  far  below  the  estimates. 

The  total  production  of  iron  ore  in  the  United  States  up  to  1890  was 
some  275,000,000  tons;  in  the  next  ten  years  it  was  nearly  200,000,000; 
and  in  the  seven  years  from  1901  to  1907  more  than  270,000,000  tons 
were  produced,  or  nearly  as  much  as  the  total  for  the  first  century  of  our 
history.  The  aggregate  production  to  date,  750,000,000  tons,  is  about 
one-thirteenth  of  the  estimated  original  supply.  At  the  recent  rate  of 
increase  (doubling  each  decade)  the  production  in  191 8  will  exceed 
100,000,000  tons,  by  1928,  200,000,000  tons,  and  by  1938  it  will  be  over 
400,000,000  tons — i.  e.,'m  that  single  year,  which  many  of  us  may  expect 
to  see,  an  amount  approximating  the  entire  production  in  the  United 
States  up  to  the  close  of  last  year.  By  that  date  about  half  of  the  original 
supply  will  be  gone,  and  only  the  lower  grades  of  ore  will  remain;  and 
all  the  ore  now  deemed  workable  will  be  used  long  before  the  end  of  the 
present  century. 

Compared  with  Britain  or  Germany,  our  only  two  important  com- 
petitors in  iron  and  steel,  we  were  until  the  past  few  years  in  much  more 
favorable  condition.     Britain  then  was  apparently  within  twenty  years 

(17) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


Address  by  Andrew  Carnegie 


of  her  end  as  an  important  steel  producer,  owing  to  exhaustion  of  her 
ore  supplies.  Recent  discoveries  in  northern  Sweden  have  given  her  a 
new  lease  and  also  benefited  Germany,  both  of  which  are  already  drawing 
part  of  their  supply  from  the  new  mines  which  are  said  to  be  by  far  the 
most  extensive  ever  known.  The  ores  are  of  excellent  quality.  It  is 
not  improbable  that  ere  long  we  also  in  the  Eastern  States  shall  be 
compelled  to  rely  upon  these  deposits  for  part  of  our  supply. 

While  both  waste  and  risk  of  life  in  the  mining  and  reduction  of  iron 
are  much  less  relatively  than  in  coal  mining,  the  advances  in  price  due 
to  progressive  exhaustion  are  large.  An  example  is  found  in  Iron 
Mountain,  Missouri,  which  forty-odd  years  ago  was  declared,  even  by 
experts,  to  be  inexhaustible;  the  entire  deposit  is  gone — work  abandoned. 
The  additional  cost  of  ore  due  to  progressive  exhaustion  of  the  bodies  of 
ore  can  hardly  be  estimated  at  less  than  10%;  this  is  already  felt,  and 
must  increase  as  field  after  field  is  exhausted. 

Next  to  iron  our  most  useful  metal  is  copper.  It  was  the  only  metal 
used  effectively  by  the  natives  of  North  America  before  Columbus  landed ; 
and  for  over  three  centuries  native  copper  was  mined  and  wrought  by 
white  men  chiefly  in  Indian  mines  and  by  Indian  methods.  The  mining 
and  reduction  of  copper  ores  has  grown  up  within  50  years;  and  within 
a  dozen  years  the  copper  industry  has  been  revolutionized  through 
electrical  application.  Although  production  is  enormous  and  increasing 
apace,  it  fails  to  keep  up  with  the  demand,  which  more  than  in  any  other 
commodity  is  limited  by  price.  If  the  current  price  could  be  reduced 
35%  the  demand  would  be  doubled  or  tripled ;  if  it  could  be  reduced  50% 
copper  would  replace  iron  for  roofing,  cornices,  piping,  and  other  con- 
structional purposes  so  as  to  raise  the  demand  ten-fold  if  not  more. 
While  the  stock  of  copper  in  the  ground  has  not  been  estimated  (miners 
and  operators  deeming  the  supply  unlimited,  just  as  a  generation  ago 
they  thought  iron  inexhaustible),  unless  the  quantity  exceeds  the  indi- 
cations, it  clearly  can  not  long  withstand  the  demands  which  would 
follow  any  great  reduction  in  price.  Unless  it  does  so,  the  use  of  copper 
can  not  seriously  check  the  drain  upon  our  iron  resources. 

Zinc  and  lead  with  silver  and  other  ores  abound  in  our  rocks,  and 
their  production  is  steadily  increasing.  Neither  the  original  supplies 
nor  the  time  they  will  last  have  been  estimated;  it  is  known  only  that 
one  mine  or  district  after  another  has  been  worked  out,  or  the  depths 
of  the  workings  so  increased  as  to  raise  the  cost  to  a  prohibitive  figure 
and  compel  abandonment.  The  current  and  avoidable  waste  in  mining 
and  reducing  these  and  the  copper  ores  is  estimated  by  experts  to 
average  30%. 

As  iron  and  coal  are  the  bases  of  industrial  values,  so  gold  is  the  basis  of 
commercial  values.  Though  there  is  enough  gold-bearing  mineral  in  the 
United  States  to  give  this  country  powerful  influence  in    maintaining 

(19) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

parity  of  gold,  the  aggregate  supply  has  not  been  estimated — indeed  it 
can  not  be,  since  nearly  all  rocks  and  earths  and  even  the  waters  contain 
gold  in  various  quantities,  so  that  production  is  controlled  wholly  by  the 
market  price.  Our  production  is  large  and  steadily  increasing;  though 
the  increase  does  not  quite  keep  pace  with  that  of  such  staples  as  corn, 
cotton,  wheat,  sugar,  iron,  coal,  copper,  silver,  lead,  and  zinc.  Doubt- 
less the  duration  of  the  supply  will  depend  solely  upon  commercial  con- 
ditions. The  waste  in  mining  and  reduction  has  always  been  large, 
ranging  from  25%  to  50% — indeed  it  is  not  uncommon  for  later  miners 
to  get  their  best  returns  from  working  the  tailings  left  by  their 
predecessors. 

In  view  of  the  sobering  facts  presented,  the  thoughtful  man  is  forced 
to  realize,  first,  that  our  production  and  consumption  of  minerals  are 
increasing  much  more  rapidly  than  our  population;  and  second,  that  our 
methods  are  so  faulty  and  extravagant  that  the  average  waste  is  very 
great,  and  in  coal  almost  as  great  as  the  amount  consumed.  The  serious 
loss  of  life  in  the  mines  is  a  feature  that  can  no  longer  be  overlooked. 
Nor  can  we  fail  to  realize  that  the  most  useful  minerals  will  shortly 
become  scarce  and  may  soon  reach  prohibitive  cost  unless  steps  to 
lessen  waste  are  taken  in  the  interest  of  the  future.     [Applause] 

I  have  for  many  years  been  impressed  with  the  steady  depletion  of 
our  iron  ore  supply.  It  is  staggering  to  learn  that  our  once-supposed 
ample  supply  of  rich  ores  can  hardly  outlast  the  generation  now  appear- 
ing, leaving  only  the  leaner  ores  for  the  later  years  of  the  century.  It 
is  my  judgment,  as  a  practical  man  accustomed  to  dealing  with  those 
material  factors  on  which  our  national  prosperity  is  based,  that  it  is 
time  to  take  thought  for  the  morrow.  I  fully  concur  in  the  opinion 
of  the  President  that  the  state  of  our  resources  raises  one  of  the  most 
serious  issues  now  before  the  American  people,  and  hope  that  this  National 
meeting  will  lead  to  wise  action. 

We  are  nationally  in  the  position  of  a  large  family  receiving  a  rich 
patrimony  from  thrifty  parents  deceased  intestate;  the  President  may 
be  likened  to  the  eldest  son  and  the  Governors  to  younger  brothers, 
jointly  responsible  for  the  minors;  the  experts  assembled  may  be  likened 
to  the  family  solicitors.  Now,  the  first  duty  of  such  a  family  is  to  take 
stock  of  its  patrimony;  the  next  to  manage  the  assets  in  such  manner 
that  none  shall  be  wasted,  that  all  be  put  to  the  greatest  good  of  the 
living  and  (heir  descendants.  Now  we  have  just  begun  to  take  stock 
of  our  national  patrimony;  and  it  is  with  the  deepest  sense  of  responsi- 
bility imposed  on  me  by  the  invitation  to  this  meeting,  to  the  nation 
and  to  coming  generations  of  all  time,  that  I  speak  as  one  of  the  junior 
solicitors.  In  my  opinion,  we  should  watch  closely  all  the  assets  and 
begin  both  to  save  and  to  use  them  more  wisely.     [Applause] 

(20) 


Address  by  Andrew  Carnegie 


Let  us  begin  with  iron:  We  must  in  all  possible  ways  lessen  the 
demands  upon  it,  for  it  is  with  iron  ore  we  are  least  adequately  pro- 
vided. One  of  the  chief  uses  of  this  metal  is  connected  with  transpor- 
tation, mainly  by  rail.  Moving  1,000  tons  of  heavy  freight  by  rail 
requires  an  8o-ton  locomotive  and  twenty-five  20-ton  steel  cars  (each 
of  40-ton  capacity),  or  580  tons  of  iron  and  steel,  with  an  average  of  say 
ten  miles  of  double  track  (with  90-pound  rails),  or  317  tons  additional; 
so  that  including  switches,  frogs,  fish-plates,  spikes,  and  other  incidentals, 
the  carriage  requires  the  use  of  an  equal  weight  of  metal.  The  same 
freight  may  be  moved  by  water  by  means  of  100  to  250  tons  of  metal, 
so  that  the  substitution  of  water-carriage  for  rail-carriage  would  reduce 
the  consumption  of  iron  by  three-fourths  to  seven-eights  in  this  depart- 
ment. At  the  same  time  the  consumption  of  coal  for  motive  power 
would  be  reduced  50%  to  75%,  with  a  corresponding  reduction  in  the 
coal  required  for  smelting.  No  single  step  open  to  us  to-day  would  do 
more  to  check  the  drain  on  iron  and  coal  than  the  substitution  of  water- 
carriage  for  rail-carriage  wherever  practicable,  and  the  careful  adjust- 
ment of  the  one  to  the  other  throughout  the  country. 

The  next  great  use  of  iron  is  in  construction,  especially  of  buildings 
and  bridges.  Fortunately  the  use  of  concrete,  simple  and  reinforced, 
is  already  reducing  the  consumption  of  structural  steel.  The  materials 
for  cement  and  concrete  abound  in  every  part  of  the  country;  and  while 
the  arts  of  making  and  using  them  are  still  in  their  infancy,  the  products 
promise  to  become  superior  to  steel  and  stone  in  strength,  durability, 
convenience,  and  economy  of  use.  The  cement  industry  is  growing 
rapidly,  largely  in  connection  with  the  making  of  iron  and  steel,  so 
that  the  substitution  of  the  new  material  will  not  involve  abandonment 
of  plants  or  loss  of  invested  capital.  The  hitherto  useless  slag  hills,  of 
which  many  may  be  seen  around  blast  furnaces,  are  now  being  made 
directly  into  cement  and  yielding  high  profits.  It  has  become  a 
by-product,  the  extra  cost  scarcely  more  than  the  former  cost  of  piling 
the  slag  away. 

A  large  current  use  of  steel  of  the  highest  quality  is  for  battleships, 
ordnance,  projectiles,  and  small  arms.  Happily  there  are  signs  of  an 
awakening  of  the  public  conscience  and  of  the  sense  of  National  right- 
eousness, whereby  civilized  nations  must  be  led  to  adopt  those  moral 
standards  which  already  regulate  individual  conduct;  the  world  is  soon 
to  learn  that  war  is  not  only  too  disgracefully  inhuman  but  too  wasteful 
to  be  tolerated,  and  this  serious  drain  upon  our  iron  ores  will  cease. 

A  promising  mode  of  reducing  iron  consumption  is  opening  through  the 
development  of  iron  alloys.  The  making  of  steel  was  first  an  accident, 
and  long  a  secret  "art  and  mystery;"  it  was  not  until  after  the  Repub- 
lic was  founded  that  steel  was  recognized  as  an  alloy  of  iron  and  carbon, 

(21) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


and  it  was  only  within  the  memory  of  men  now  present  that  nickel,  sil- 
ver, zircon,  tungsten,  and  other  minerals  were  scientifically  alloyed  with 
iron  to  yield  those  protean  modern  steels  adapted  to  an  ever-increasing 
rantre  of  uses.  And  the  end  is  not  vet;  every  expert  knows  that  metal 
alloying  is  in  its  infancy. 

Among  the  most  abundant  materials  of  the  earthcrust  are  silica,  alu- 
mina, and  carbon  compounds,  all  with  more  or  less  affinity  for  iron; 
already  the  alloying  of  carbon  with  iron  has  revolutionized  the  industrial 
world,  and  of  late  the  alloying  of  silicon  with  iron  (in  " f erro-silicon ," 
etc.)  not  only  gives  promise  of  yielding  a  superior  metal  but  suggests  the 
reduction  of  siliceous  ores  hitherto  unworkable,  while  aluminum  has  been 
alloyed  with  iron  in  a  useful  way.  It  is  not  too  much  to  hope  that 
research  into  the  ultimate  constitution  and  relation  of  these  commoner 
materials  will  yield  both  better  and  cheaper  metals  than  any  thus  far 
produced,  and  that  newly  discovered  alloys  will  help  to  relieve  the  pres- 
sure on  our  mines  of  iron,  copper,  zinc,  silver  and  lead. 

We  now  come  to  coal.  How  shall  we  save  that?  Current  uses — or 
rather  current  wastes — offer  suggestions:  The  most  serious  waste  arises 
from  imperfect  combustion  in  furnace  and  firebox.  The  waste  of  90% 
and  over  of  the  potential  energy  of  the  fuel  in  power-production — which, 
however,  we  know  not  yet  how  to  avoid — is  appalling  in  itself,  while  the 
smoke  and  soot  from  the  chimneys  becloud  and  befoul  cities,  poison 
human  lungs  and  prepare  the  way  for  pneumonia  (one  of  our  worst  mod- 
ern scourges),  and  initiate  all  manner  of  additional  wastes.  We  have 
already  learned  that  internal-combustion  engines  and  gas-producers 
double  or  triple  the  power  per  unit  of  coal,  obviate  the  smoke  nuisance 
and  also  permit  the  use  of  lignite,  culm,  slack,  and  inferior  coals — in 
fact,  so  far  as  power-production  by  reciprocal  engines  is  concerned,  the 
days  of  steam  seem  to  be  numbered,  although  the  development  of  substi- 
tutes is  still  in  its  infancy.  The  consumption  of  coal  in  smelting  is  nec- 
essarily large;  of  late  the  loss  is  reduced  by  using  the  furnace-gases  for 
power,  and  by  making  by-products;  yet  the  chief  saving  must  lie  in  econ- 
omy in  the  use  of  metals.  Much  of  our  coke-making  is  still  extrava- 
gant; some  ovens  use  the  gases,  and  all  should  do  so  without  delay — if 
necessary,  under  State  regulation,  since  the  people  have  some  rights 
both  in  the  preservation  of  their  heritage  and  in  maintaining  the  purity 
of  the  air  they  breathe.     [Applause] 

Next  to  imperfect  combustion,  tin-  chief  waste  of  coal  arises  in  mining. 
The  early  colliers  saw  no  value  in  coal  in  the  ground,  any  more  than 
early  miUei  a*  value  in  the  How  of  the  stream;  to  them  coal  acquired 
value  only  through  the  labor  of  mining  it,  just  as  to  the-  miller  the  stream 

acquired  value  only  as  head  was  produced  by  the  labor  ot  building  dam 

and   mill.      So  tin-  eoal   taken   out   in   the   British  and  German  collieries 

(22) 


Address  by  Andrew  Carnegie 


was  a  sort  of  treasure  trove;  that  left  in  the  ground  was  nobody's  loss. 
Likewise  in  early  American  mining  the  coal  mined  merely  yielded  a 
return  for  labor,  and  the  pillars  and  slack  and  poor  coal  left  in  the  ground 
were  nobody's  affair;  it  was  years  after  mining  began  before  coal  lands 
were  thought  to  have  any  other  value  than  as  wood-lands  or  farm-lands. 
Thus  the  incredibly  wasteful  methods  were  natural  enough ;  if  labor  could 
be  saved  and  profit  gained  by  taking  out  but  a  third  or  a  half  of  the 
richest  part  of  the  seam,  leaving  the  rest  to  be  rendered  inaccessible  by 
caving,  so  be  it.  No  one  thought  of  it  as  improvident.  Now  that  the 
coal  in  the  ground  is  recognized  as  part,  and  a  great  part,  of  the  value 
of  coal  lands,  self-interest  impels  the  operator  to  take  out  all  he  can,  and 
leads  the  miner  to  work  close  to  floor  and  roof.  Bad  results  may  some- 
times follow,  as  in  the  anthracite  region,  where  the  entire  forest  growth 
has  been  stripped  and  both  land  and  streams  ruined  to  timber  the  mines, 
and  in  those  terrible  accidents  when  in  removing  the  pillars  of  coal  the 
miners  are  buried.  Coal  mining  cries  out  for  expert  knowledge  whereby 
the  full  yield  may  be  obtained  without  needless  risk  or  loss;  and  for  wise 
police  regulation  whereby  life  may  be  protected  against  ignorance  and 
cupidity. 

The  most  promising  check  on  coal  consumption  is  the  substitution  of 
other  power.  Naturalists  tell  us  that  coal  is  a  reservoir  of  solar  energy 
stored  up  in  ages  past,  and  that  the  same  is  partly  true  also  of  other 
chemically  complex  substances,  including  ores.  The  sun-motor  still 
runs;  its  rays  render  the  globe  habitable,  and  may  yet  be  made  to 
produce  power  through  solar  engines,  or  may  be  concentrated  in  furnaces — 
as  in  the  Portuguese  priest's  heliophore  at  the  St.  Louis  Exposition  with 
its  temperature  of  6,ooo°  F.,  in  which  a  cube  of  iron  evaporated  like  a 
snowball  in  a  Bessemer  converter.  The  sun  helps  to  raise  the  tides, 
which  some  day  will  be  harnessed;  and  still  more  practically  it  raises 
vapor  from  the  sea  to  fall  as  rain  and  supply  our  mill-streams  and  rivers, 
which  it  is  estimated  may  some  day  yield  over  30,000,000  horsepower — 
or  more  than  all  now  produced  from  fuel  by  all  our  engines  combined. 
Dr  Pritchett  is  responsible  for  the  statement  that  on  a  clear  day,  when 
well  above  the  horizon,  the  sun  delivers  upon  each  acre  of  the  earth's 
surface  exposed  to  its  rays  the  equivalent  of  7,500  horsepower,  working 
continuously.  Thus,  there  is  abundance  of  power  lying  around  us,  if 
we  only  knew  how  to  harness  it.  It  is  only  within  the  past  decade  that 
electrical  transmission  has  made  water-power  generally  available  for 
driving  machinery,  for  smelting,  and  for  moving  trains,  and  has  at  the 
same  time  created  a  new  market  for  copper;  yet  it  is  a  safe  forecast 
that  this  method  of  using  solar  energy  (for  such  water  is  as  the  product 
of  sun-heat)  will  soon  affect  the  constantly  increasing  drain  on  our  coal. 
And  just  as  the  woods  and  the  ores  and  the  mineral  fuels  have  become 


03) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


sources  of  wealth  and  power  within  our  memory,  so  will  become  the 
running  waters  within  a  few  years !     [Applause] 

No  practical  man  can  study  our  mineral  supplies  without  seeing  that 
they  are  melting  away  under  our  national  growth  at  a  geometrically 
increasing  rate,  and  without  realizing  that  unless  the  loss  is  checked  his 
descendants  must  suffer;    nor  can  he  consider  ways  of  preserving  the 
supply  without  realizing  the  need  of  wider  and  deeper  knowledge  than 
we  now  possess.     It  was  not  resources  alone  that  gave  this  country  its 
prosperity,  but  inventive  skill  and  industrial  enterprise  applied  to  its 
resources.     Individually  we  have  been  both  forehanded  and  foreminded; 
nationally  we  have  been  forehanded  chiefly  through  the  accident  of  dis- 
covery bv  John  Smith  and  Walter  Raleigh,  but  nationally  we  are  not 
yet  foreminded.     So  far  as  our  mineral  wealth  is  concerned,  the  need  of 
the  dav  is  prudent  foresight,  coupled  with  ceaseless  research  in  order 
that  new  minerals  may  be  discovered,  new  alloys  produced,  new  com- 
pounds of  common   substances  made  available,   new   power-producing 
devices  developed.     The   most   careful  inventory  of   the  family  patri- 
mony should  be  made.     I  plead  for  economy,  that  the  next  generation 
and  the  next  may  be  saved  from  want — but  especially  I  urge  research 
into  and  mastery  over  Nature,  in  order  that  two  blades  may  be  made  to 
grow  where  one  grew  before,  that  the  golden  grain  may  be  made  to 
replace  woody  grass,  that  crude  rocks  may  be  made  to  yield  fine  metals. 
I  urge  on  the  Executives  here  assembled  as  our  greatest  need  today 
the  need  for  better  and  more  practical  knowledge.     It  was  never  more 
true  than  now  that  "  Knowledge  is  power."     The  States  have  done  much, 
the  Federal  Government  has  done  much,  individual  men  have  done  much 
for  research;  in  the  history  of  this  country  knowledge  has  advanced  as 
never  before,  and  thereby  the  materials  and  forces  of  Nature  have  been 
brought  under  control  as  no  man  dreamed  when  the  nation  was  founded. 
Yet  if  our  career  of  prosperity  is  to  continue,  it  must  be  on  the  basis  of 
completer  control  of  national  sources  of  material  and  power  than  we 
have  thus  far  exercised,  a  control  to  be  gained  only  by  research.     [Ap- 
plause] 

In  conclusion,  Mr.  President  and  Governors  of  our  States,  it  seems  to 

me  our  duty  is: 

First,  conservation  of  forests,  for  no  forests,  no  long  navigable  rivers; 
no  rivers,  no  cheap  transportation.     [Applause] 

Second,  to  systematize  our  water  transportation,  putting  the  whole 
work  in  the  hands  of  tin-  Reclamation  Service,  which  has  already  proved 
itself  highly  capable  by  its  admirable  work.  Cheap  water  transporta- 
tion for  heavy  freights  brings  many  advantages  and  means  great  saving 
our  ore    supplies.     Railroads  require   much   steel,   water  does   not. 

[Applause] 

4) 


Address  by  Andrew  Carnegie 


Third,  conservation  of  soil.  More  than  a  thousand  millions  of  tons  of 
our  richest  soil  are  swept  into  the  sea  every  year,  clogging  the  rivers  on 
its  way  and  filling  our  harbors.  Less  soil,  less  crops;  less  crops,  less 
commerce,  less  wealth.     [Applause] 

The  way  is  not  new:  Washington  and  his  compatriots  pushed  into  the 
unknown  in  projecting  a  nation  on  new  principles.  Franklin  grasped  a 
hardly  known  principality  through  the  Geneva  Treaty,  and  Jefferson  seized 
an  unexplored  half-continent  despite  protests  of  those  whose  knowledge 
was  even  less  than  his  own;  Fulton,  Morse,  Henry,  Edison  and  Bell 
came  to  stand  as  kings  among  men  by  pushing  into  the  unknown.  Today 
the  time  is  ripe  for  a  further  advance;  our  President,  with  far-sighted 
patriotism,  has  arisen  to  lead  effort  and  action.  He  deserves,  and  I  am 
sure  will  receive,  your  earnest  support  and  that  of  all  citizens  who  under- 
stand the  importance  of  the  problems  involved.     [Applause] 


Governor  Glenn.  Mr  President,  at  the  instance  of  our  Forestry  Com- 
mittee, I  simply  want  to  offer  a  resolution  and  have  it  referred,  so  that 
the  committee  appointed  this  morning  can  act  on  it  before  tomorrow 
morning. 

The  President:  The  resolution  will  be  referred  accordingly. 

Governor  Folk  :  I  desire  to  offer  the  following  resolution,  and  ask 
that  it  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions. 

The  President:  The  resolution  will  be  properly  referred. 

Governor  Blanchard:  Mr  President,  I  would  ask  on  behalf  of  the 
Committee  on  Resolutions  that  all  Governors  and  members  of  the  Con- 
ference who  have  resolutions  they  desire  to  send  up  will  do  so  if  possible 
this  afternoon.     The  Committee  on  Resolutions  desires  to  get  to  work. 

The  President:  I  would  suggest  that  if  it  is  impracticable  to  pre- 
pare resolutions  in  time  to  present  here,  they  be  presented  to  the  Com- 
mittee without  being  formally  presented  during  the  sessions,  so  as  to 
economize  time. 

Mr  Ransdell:  Mr  President,  I  move  that  all  resolutions  be  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions  without  reading. 

The  motion  was  seconded,  as  in  accord  with  the  understanding  when 
the  Committee  was  appointed;  and  the  question  being  demanded,  the 
motion  was  put  and  was  agreed  to  without  dissenting  voice. 

The  President:  Gentlemen,  Governor  Noel  will  now  take  the  chair; 
and  Dr  White  will  address  the  meeting. 

Governor  Noel  then  took  the  chair  as  Presiding  Officer  for  the  session. 


(25) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


THE  WASTE  OF  OUR  FUEL  RESOURCES 
I.  C.  White 

STATE   GEOLOGIST  OF   WEST   VIRGINIA 


Mr  President,  Governors,  and  Gentlemen: 

A  great  geoglogist  once  said,  "The  nations  that  have  coal  and  iron 
will  rule  the  world."  Bountiful  nature  has  dowered  the  American  People 
with  a  heritage  of  both  coal  and  iron  richer  by  far  than  that  of  any  other 
political  division  of  the  earth. 

It  was  formerly  supposed  that  China  would  prove  the  great  store- 
house from  which  the  other  nations  could  draw  their  supplies  of  carbon 
when  their  own  had  become  exhausted,  but  the  recent  studies  of  a  bril- 
liant American  geologist  in  that  far-off  land,  rendered  possible  by  the 
generosity  of  the  world's  greatest  philanthropist,  tell  a  different  story. 
The  fuel  resources  of  China,  great  as  they  undoubtedly  are,  have  been 
largely  overestimated,  and  Mr  Willis  reports  that  they  will  practically 
all  be  required  by  China  herself,  and  that  the  other  nations  can  not  look 
to  her  for  this  all-important  element  in  modern  industrial  life. 

A  simple  glance  at  a  geological  map  of  the  United  States  will  con- 
vince any  one  that  nature  has  been  most  lavish  to  us  in  fuel  resources, 
for  we  find  a  series  of  great  coal  deposits  extending  in  well  scattered 
fields  almost  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  and  from  the  Lakes  to  the 
Gulf,  while  even  over  much  of  New  England  and  the  coastal  plains  vast 
areas  of  peat,  the  primal  phase  of  coal,  have  been  distributed.  But 
coal  of  every  variety  from  peat  to  anthracite  is  not  all  of  nature's  fuel 
gifts  to  fortunate  America:  great  deposits  of  both  petroleum  and  natural 
gas  occur  in  nearly  ever>  State  where  coal  exists,  and  in  some  that  have 
no  coal.  What  greater  dowry  of  fuels  could  we  ask  when  we  find  them 
stored  for  us  within  the  bosom  of  our  mother  earth  in  all  three  of  the 
great  types,  coal,  petroleum  and  natural  gas,  only  awaiting  the  tap  of 
the  pick  and  drill  to  bring  them  forth  in  prodigal  abundance? 

What  account  can  we  as  a  Nation  give  of  our  stewardship  of  such  vast 
fuel  treasures?  Have  we  carefully  conserved  them,  using  only  what 
was  necessary  in  our  domestic  and  industrial  life,  and  transmitted  the 
remainder,  like  prudent  husbandmen,  unimpaired  to  succeeding  genera- 
tions? Or  have  we  greatly  depleted  this  priceless  heritage  of  power, 
and  comfort,  and  source  of  world-wide  influence,  by  criminal  waste  and 
wanton  destruction?  The  answer  should  bring  a  blush  of  shame  to 
iv  patriotic  American;  for  not  content  with  destroying  our  magnifi- 
cent forests,  the  only  fuel  and  supply  of  carbon  known  to  our  fore 
fathers,  we  are  with  ruthless  hands  and  regardless  of  the  future  applying 

(26) 


Address  by  I.  C.  White 


both  torch  and  bomb  to  the  vastly  greater  resources  of  this  precious 
carbon  which  provident  Nature  had  stored  for  our  use  in  the  buried 
forests  of  the  distant  past.  The  wildest  anarchist  determined  to  destroy 
and  overturn  the  foundations  of  government  could  not  act  in  a  more 
irrational  and  thoughtless  manner  than  have  our  People  in  permitting 
such  fearful  destruction  of  the  very  sources  of  our  power  and  greatness. 
Let  me  enumerate  some  of  the  details  of  this  awful  waste  of  our  fuel 
resources  that  has  been  going  on  with  ever  increasing  speed  for  the  forty 
years  last  past. 

First  let  us  consider  how  we  have  wasted  Natural  Gas — the  purest 
form  of  fuel,  ideal  in  every  respect,  self-transporting,  only  awaiting  the 
turning  of  a  key  to  deliver  to  our  homes  and  factories  heat  and  light  and 
power.  Partial  Nature  has  apparently  denied  this  great  boon  to  many 
other  lands.  It  is  practically  unknown  in  France,  Germany  and  Great 
Britain,  our  chief  competitors  in  the  world  of  industry.  Even  wood 
and  coal  must  first  be  converted  into  gas  before  they  will  burn,  but  here 
is  a  fuel  of  which  nature  has  given  us  a  practical  monopoly,  lavish  in 
abundance,  already  transmuted  into  the  gaseous  stage  and  stored  under 
vast  pressure  to  be  released  at  our  bidding  when  and  where  we  will. 
The  record  of  waste  of  this  best  and  purest  fuel  is  a  national  disgrace. 

At  this  very  minute  our  unrivaled  fuel  is  passing  into  the  air  from 
uncontrolled  gas  wells,  from  oil  wells,  from  giant  flambeaus,  from 
leaking  pipe-lines,  and  the  many  other  methods  of  waste  at  the  rate  of 
not  less  than  i  ,000,000,000  cubic  feet  daily  and  probably  much  more. 

Very  few  appear  to  realize  either  the  great  importance  of  this  hydro- 
carbon fuel  resource  of  our  country,  or  its  vast  original  quantity.  Some 
of  the  individual  wells,  if  we  may  credit  the  measurements,  have  pro- 
duced this  fuel  at  the  rate  of  70,000,000  cubic  feet  daily,  the  equivalent 
in  heating  value  of  70,000  bushels  of  coal,  or  nearly  12,000  barrels  of  oil. 
In  my  humble  opinion  the  original  amount  of  this  volatile  fuel  in  the 
United  States,  permeating  as  it  does  every  undisturbed  geologic  forma- 
tion from  the  oldest  to  the  most  recent,  rivaled  or  even  exceeded  in 
heating  value  all  of  our  wondrous  stores  of  coal. 

Suppose  that  it  were  possible  for  some  Nero,  inspired  by  a  mania  of 
incendiarism,  to  apply  a  consuming  torch  to  every  bed  of  coal  that  crops 
to  the  surface  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  and  that  the  entire  coal 
supply  of  the  Union  was  threatened  with  destruction  within  a  very  few 
years,  what  do  you  think  would  happen?  Would  our  State  Legislatures 
sit  undisturbed,  panoplied  by  such  a  carnival  of  fire?  Would  the  Gov- 
ernors of  30  States  remain  silent  while  the  demon  of  flame  was  ravaging 
the  coal  resources  of  the  Republic?  Certainly  not;  there  would  be  a 
united  effort  by  the  Governors  and  Legislatures  of  all  the  States  in  the 
Union  to  stay  the  progress  of  such  a  direful  conflagration;    even  the 


(27) 

56254—09 5 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

sacred  barriers  wisely  erected  between  State  and  Federal  authority  in 
the  Constitution  would  melt  away  in  the  presence  of  such  an  awful 
calamity,  and  the  mighty  arm  of  the  Nation  would  be  invoked  to  help 
end  the  common  peril  to  every  interest.  And  yet  this  imaginary  case  is 
an  actual  one  with  the  best  and  purest  fuel  of  the  country,  equal  probably 
in  quantity  and  value  for  heat,  light,  and  power  to  all  of  our  coal  resources. 
This  blazing  zone  of  destruction  extends  in  a  broad  band  from  the  Lakes 
to  the  Gulf,  and  westward  to  the  Pacific,  embracing  in  its  flaming  pathway 
the  most  precious  fuel  possessions  of  a  continent.  Xo  one  can  even 
approximate  the  extent  of  this  waste.  From  personal  knowledge  of 
conditions  which  exist  in  every  oil  and  gas  field,  I  am  sure  the  quantity 
will  amount  to  not  less  than  1,000,000,000  cubic  feet  daily,  and  it  may 
be  much  more.  The  heating  value  of  a  billion  cubic  feet  of  natural  gas 
is  roughly  equivalent  to  that  of  1,000,000  bushels  of  coal.  What  an 
appalling  record  to  transmit  to  posterity! 

From  one  well  in  eastern  Kentucky  there  poured  a  stream  of  gas  for  a 
period  of  20  years,  without  any  attempt  to  shut  it  in  or  utilize  it,  which 
was  worth  at  current  prices  more  than  $3,000,000.  Practically  the  same 
conditions  characterized  the  first  twenty-five  years  of  Pennsylvania's  oil 
and  gas  history,  and  the  quantity  of  wasted  gas  from  thousands  of  oil 
and  gas  wells  in  western  Pennsylvania  is  beyond  computation.  In  my 
own  state  of  West  Virginia,  only  eight  years  ago,  not  less  than  500,000,000 
cubic  feet  of  this  precious  gas  was  daily  escaping  into  the  air  from  two 
counties  alone,  practically  all  of  which  was  easily  preventable  by  a  mod- 
erate expenditure  for  additional  casing.  When  it  is  remembered  that 
1,000  cubic  feet  of  natural  gas  weighs  48  pounds,  and  that  6,000  cubic 
feet  of  it  would  yield  a  42-gallon  barrel  of  oil  when  condensed,  so  that  a 
well  flowing  6,000,000  feet  of  gas  is  pouring  into  the  air  daily  the  equiva- 
lent of  1 ,000  barrels  of  oil,  what  would  our  petroleum  kings  think  if  they 
could  see  this  river  of  oil  (for  the  equivalent  of  1 ,000,000,000  feet  of  gas  is 
more  than  160,000  barrels  of  petroleum,  and  of  practically  the  same 
chemical  composition  as  benzine  or  gasolene)  rushing  unhindered  to  the 
sea?  Would  they  not  spend  millions  to  check  such  a  frightful  waste  of  this 
golden  fluid?  And  would  they  not  be  the  first  to  appeal  to  the  National 
Government  for  aid  in  ending  such  stupendous  destruction  of  property? 
And  yet  because  natural  gas  is  invisible, and  its  waste  is  not  so  apparent 
to  1  he  eye  as  a  si  ream  of  oil  or  a  burning  coal-mine,  the  agents  of  these  oil 
magnates  have  not  only  permitted  this  destruction  of  the  Nation's  fuel 
resources  to  continue,  but  even  have  prevented  by  every  means  in  their 
power  th"  enaet  mi  iit  of  legislation  to  stop  this  frightful  loss  of  the  best 
and  purest  fuel  thai  Nature  has  given  to  Man. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  for  every  barrel  of  oil  taken  from  the  earth 
there  have  been   wasted   more  than    id  times  its  equivalent  in  heating 

(28) 


Address  by  I.  C.  White 


power,  or  weight  even,  of  this  best  of  all  fuels;  and  that  much  more  than 
half  of  this  frightful  waste  could  have  been  avoided  by  proper  care  and 
slight  additional  expenditures  in  oil-production. 

In  justice  to  the  great  oil-producing  corporations  it  must  be  acknowl- 
edged that  they  have  not  permitted  much  waste  of  petroleum  except 
what  has  been  sprayed  into  the  air  by  their  awful  waste  of  gas,  and  also 
that  their  handling  of  petroleum  has  been  from  the  beginning,  a  model  of 
business  economy  and  management.  The  great  mistake  of  the  oil  pro- 
ducing interests  has  been  in  not  properly  apprehending  the  enormous  fuel 
value  of  the  natural  gas  they  were  destroying,  and  in  not  demanding  leg- 
islation for  its  protection  instead  of  successfully  throttling  and  prevent- 
ing it  in  every  state  of  the  Union  except  one — Indiana.  When  the  peo- 
ple of  that  great  state  awoke  to  the  fact  that  their  richest  mineral  posses- 
sion was  being  rapidly  wasted,  they  rose  to  the  occasion,  and  although  it 
was  largely  a  case  of  "  Locking  the  stable  door  after  the  horse  was  stolen," 
they  effectually  prevented  any  further  useless  waste  of  natural  gas. 
This  Indiana  statute,  which  has  been  declared  constitutional  by  our 
highest  courts,  says  in  effect  to  the  oil  producers,  "You  can  not  take  the 
oil  from  the  ground,  where  Nature  has  safely  stored  it,  until  you  provide 
a  method  of  utilizing  the  accompanying  gas  or  volatile  oil  as  well;"  and 
it  also  says  to  both  the  producer  and  consumer  of  natural  gas,  that  it  is 
against  "Public  policy  to  waste  this  valuable  fuel,  and  that  it  will  not  be 
permitted  to  either  party."  This  Indiana  statute  for  the  conservation  of 
petroleum  and  natural  gas  should  be  enacted  into  law  in  every  State  where 
these  precious  fuels  exist.  Why  has  it  not  been  done?  Let  the  answer 
be  found  in  the  history  of  my  own  state,  where  the  waste  of  natural  gas 
has  been  exceeded  only  by  that  of  our  sister  State  of  Pennsylvania. 

For  ten  years  your  speaker  has  appealed  in  his  official  capacity  as  State 
Geologist  to  the  Legislature  of  West  Virginia  to  put  some  check  on  this 
frightful  waste  of  our  State's  most  valuable  resource.  Three  patriotic 
Governors,  including  our  present  able  Executive,  Governor  Dawson, 
have  in  every  biennial  message  besought  the  Legislative  branch  to  end 
this  criminal  destruction  by  appropriate  legislation;  but  some  unseen 
power  greater  than  Governor  or  Legislature  has  so  far  thwarted  and  pal- 
sied every  effort  to  save  to  the  State  and  the  Nation  this  priceless  heritage 
of  fuel,  so  that  although  five  successive  Legislatures  have  attempted  to 
deal  with  the  question  in  biennial  sessions,  not  an  effective  line  has  yet 
been  added  to  the  statutes — and  at  this  very  hour  not  less  than  250,000 ,000 
cubic  feet  of  gas,  and  possibly  more  than  double  that  quantity,  is  dailv 
being  wasted  in  this  one  State  alone,  80  per  cent  of  which  is  easily  and 
cheaply  preventable. 

Why  should  a  few  oil  producers  in  their  insane  haste  to  get  rich  quicklv, 
or  add  to  fortunes  already  swollen  beyond  safety  to  the  Republic,  be  per- 
mitted thus  to  despoil  the  entire  country  of  its  choicest  fuel? 


(*9) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


But  surely  if  men  have  thus  permitted  the  loss  of  our  gaseous  fuels, 
often  because  they  could  neither  see  the  substance  itself  nor  realize  the 
extent  of  what  they  were  doing,  certainly  they  would  not  be  so  wasteful 
of  the  solid  fuels,  the  coal  beds,  something  they  can  readily  perceive  and 
handle  and  weigh5  The  record  here  is  also  one  to  make  every  citizen  of 
our  Nation  feel  distressed  and  humiliated,  for  of  the  total  quantity  of  coal 
we  have  produced  since  mining  for  commercial  purposes  began,  amount- 
ing to  above  5,000,000,000  tons,  at  least  an  equal  amount  and  possibly 
more  has  been  left  in  abandoned  mines  and  irretrievably  lost.  You  who 
are  unacquainted  with  the  details  of  mining  operations  and  of  the  struc- 
ture of  coal  beds  will  doubtless  wonder  how  such  a  vast  loss  of  fuel  could 
take  place.  There  are  many  causes  for  this  enormous  waste  in  the 
extraction  of  coal.     Let  me  enumerate  a  few  of  them : 

First :  The  individual  coal  bed  is  not  all  pure  coal,  and  this  is  especially 
true  if  it  be  very  thick.  Some  of  it  consists  of  layers  of  sulphurous  or 
bony  coal,  rich  in  carbon,  but  containing  more  ash,  sulphur,  or  earthy 
material  than  first  class  coal  should  hold;  and  the  purchaser  refuses  his 
patronage  to  the  party  who  sends  him  coal  high  in  ash.  There  being  no 
market  for  such  coal,  the  operator  leaves  it  unmined  if  it  be  in  either 
the  roof  or  bottom  of  his  coal  bed;  and  if  it  be  interstratified  with  the 
pure  coal,  as  frequently  happens,  he  simply  throws  it  along  with  other 
mine  refuse  into  the  gob-heaps  within  the  mine,  or  piles  it  in  the  hillocks 
of  culm  containing  shale,  clay,  and  other  waste  material  at  the  entrance. 
The  quantity  of  this  impure  coal  varies  from  10%  to  50%  in  nearly 
every  coal  bed,  and  it  would  probably  average  25%  in  all  the  mines  of 
the  country.  This  material  is  rich  in  carbon,  both  fixed  and  volatile,  and 
when  utilized  through  the  agency  of  producer  gas  and  the  gas-engine 
will  yield  much  more  power  than  the  same  weight  of  the  best  Cardiff  or 
Pocahontas  coal  when  the  steam-engine  is  the  agency  of  conversion. 
Why  should  our  great  manufacturing  industries  permit  one-fourth  of 
our  entire  coal  resources  to  be  thus  wasted  and  permanently  lost  when 
the  researches  of  the  Technical  Branch  of  the  United  States  Geological 
Survey  have  fully  demonstrated  the  practicability  of  converting  these 
impure  coals  into  great  sources  of  power?  If  in  all  new  installations 
provision  were  made  for  the  use  of  gas-engines  a  large  portion  of  these 
impure  eoals  could  be  utilized,  and  our  purer  types  of  fuel  could  be  pre- 
served for  other  purposes. 

Second  :  In  tin-  mining  of  coal,  it  is  necessary  to  support  the  overlying 
strata  over  large  areas  of  the  mine  in  order  that  the  coal  may  be  even 
partialis-  taken  out  ;  and  henee  it  is  the  common  mining  practice  tempo- 
rarily I')  utilize  about  50%  of  the  solid  coal  itself  in  the  shape  of  sup- 
porting pillars  for  the  protection  of  roadways,  air  courses,  working 
as,  etc.  (  mi  accounl  of  accidents,  like  falling  roof-roek,  "squeezes," 
"creeps,"  "crushes,"  mistakes  in  mine  engineering,  bad  roof,  and  other 


(30) 


Address  by  I.  C.  White 


causes,  many  of  these  huge  pillars  are  frequently  submerged  and  sur- 
rounded with  broken  rock  material,  and  thus  another  large  proportion 
of  every  coal  bed  (varying  from  10  to  50%)  is  utterly  lost;  so  that 
approximately  25%  more  of  the  Nation's  coal  resources  is  wasted  from 
these  largely  preventable  causes. 

With  50%  of  our  coal  left  in  the  abandoned  mines  from  which  it  can 
never  be  recovered  except  at  enormous  expense,  one  would  think  that 
the  end  had  come  to  wanton  destruction  of  our  coal  resources,  but  not 
so;  a  third  means,  and  one  of  unknown  extent,  has  yet  to  be  considered: 
Some  of  the  impure  layers  of  coal  may  have  a  still  larger  percentage  of 
earthy  matter,  and  then  they  become  partings  of  shale,  the  fossil  muds 
and  soils  borne  into  and  spread  over  the  ancient  peat-bogs  by  the  drain- 
ing streams  of  geologic  time.  These  partings  vary  in  thickness  from  a 
few  inches  to  several  feet.  When  thin,  not  exceeding  6  to  12  inches, 
the  usual  mining  practice  is  to  take  them  out  and  secure  the  coal;  but 
where  they  attain  a  thickness  of  18  to  24  inches,  their  removal  entails 
too  much  expense  for  the  production  of  bituminous  coal  under  present 
commercial  conditions,  and  hence  the  parting  is  not  removed,  and  the 
underlying  or  overlying  coal  (as  the  case  may  be),  is  left  in  the  mine 
usually  in  such  a  condition  as  to  be  practically  irrecoverable.  These 
parting  shales  often  occur  near  the  middle  of  the  coal  seam,  and  thus 
one-half  of  the  bed  will  remain  buried  in  mine  rubbish  with  no  possibility 
of  ever  securing  its  precious  fuel.  Very  much  akin  to  this  is  another 
kind  of  waste,  of  which  we  as  yet  cannot  even  approximate  the  extent. 
It  is  well  known  that  in  very  rich  coal  fields  several  (3  to  10)  beds  of 
coal  may  overlie  each  other  in  the  same  mountain,  separated  by  from  5 
to  200  feet  of  rock  material.  It  often  happens  that  the  thickest  and 
best  of  the  beds  may  underlie  all  the  others,  and  hence  will  be  the  first 
one  mined,  regardless  of  the  fact  that  when  the  overlying  strata  breaks 
down,  some  and  possibly  several  of  the  higher  coal  beds  being  so  dislo- 
cated and  disturbed  and  their  areas  so  permeated  with  deadly  gases 
from  the  abandoned  mines  below  that  much  of  this  higher  coal  will  be 
lost — just  how  much  no  one  yet  knows,  though  the  fuel  waste  from  this 
source  must  be  large.  Of  course  nearly  all  of  this  loss  could  be  pre- 
vented by  mining  the  higher  beds  first.  Another  deadly  peril  to  deep 
coal  mining  is  an  incident  of  oil  and  gas  production.  Thousands  of 
holes  have  been  drilled  through  the  coal  measures  to  reach  the  productive 
oil  and  gas  zones  below.  Many  of  them  have  found  only  natural  gas, 
and  unless  the  well  was  very  large  or  a  profitable  market  near  at  hand, 
the  casing  has  been  drawn  and  the  well  abandoned.  It  is  greatly  feared 
that  in  such  cases,  another  great  menace  will  be  added  to  the  coal  mining 
industry,  since  these  abandoned  oil  and  gas  wells  which  penetrate  the 
coal  measures  are  numbered  by  the  thousand,  and  no  accurate  public 
charts  of  the  same  have  ever  been  kept. 

(31) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

The  same  story  of  waste  of  fuel  comes  from  every  mining  center.  The 
experts  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey  report  the  quantity  of 
fuel  left  unmined  in  the  ground  all  the  way  from  40%  to  70%  of  the 
total  deposits.  I  shall  not  worry  you  with  details  from  all  over  the 
country,  but  shall  illustrate  the  rapid  exhaustion  of  our  fields  by  special 
reference  to  one  great  district,  with  which  many  of  you  are  personally 
familiar. 

The  mining  of  bituminous  coal  and  the  manufacturing  industries 
dependent  thereon  originated  at  Pittsburg  only  about  a  century  ago,  and 
her  citizens  as  well  as  all  others  may  learn  a  useful  lesson  by  recalling 
the  history  of  this  beginning.  The  earliest  settlers  found  there  cropping 
high  in  the  steep  hills  which  border  the  Monongahela  river  a  thick  bed 
of  splendid  coal.  As  roadways  could  not  be  constructed  to  the  inacces- 
sible cliffs  where  the  coal  was  first  discovered,  some  other  method  of 
securing  it  was  necessary.  At  that  time  the  buffalo  roamed  the  vast 
plains  of  the  middle  West  in  countless  millions,  and  these  animals  were 
so  abundant  even  in  the  Pittsburg  region  that  their  skins  were  used  for 
conveying  the  coal  from  the  mines  to  the  factories  in  the  valley  below, 
a  few  bushels  of  coal  being  sewed  up  in  each  hide  and  then  rolled  down 
the  steep  slopes.  To  our  forefathers  the  supply  of  buffalo  appeared 
"inexhaustible,"  and  yet  less  than  a  century  of  wanton  slaughter  has 
practically  exterminated  this  noble  animal.  This  passing  of  the  buffalo 
illustrates  in  a  striking  way  what  will  just  as  surely  happen  to  vast  areas 
of  our  fuel  resources,  great  as  they  are,  even  within  the  limits  of  the  pres- 
ent century — unless  our  people  awake  to  what  they  are  doing  and  make  a 
determined  effort  to  stop  their  destruction.  The  people  generally  have 
been  so  of  ten  told  of  their  "inexhaustible"  supplies  of  fuel  that  its  waste 
has  not  impressed  them  as  a  problem  worthy  of  serious  thought.  They 
have  generally  believed  that  exhaustion  was  so  remote  that  even  its  con- 
sideration concerned  the  present  only  in  an  academic  way.  Let  us  see 
about  that.  We  shall  take  for  our  illustration  the  Appalachian  coal 
field,  which  is  conceded  by  all  to  be  the  richest  in  fuel  of  any  on  the 
continent.  It  is  also  the  most  important  to  the  welfare  of  the  count n  . 
since  it  is  nearest  the  seaboard,  and  since  it  contains  the  vast  bulk  of 
our  good  coking  oak  upon  which  our  pre-eminence  in  the  iron  and  steel 
industry  depends.  With  the  exception  of  a  few  narrow  strips  close  to 
regions  of  rock  disturbance  or  folding  in  our  western  country,  no  first  - 
iking  coals  have  vet  been  discovered  in  the  United  States  outside 
of  this  Appalachian  basin. 

It  has  long  been  recognized  by  all  that  the  Pittsburg  district  is  located 
in  the  heart  of  the  Appalachian  field  where  fuel  of  every  description  is 
most  abundant,  and  mosl  accessible.  Vouwill  pardon;'  personal  remi- 
ni  cence  which  illustrates  how  an  eminent  political  economist  regarded 
this  favored  n  gion:  It  was  my  good  fortune  to  accompany  the  lamented 


Address  by  I.  C.  White 


Blaine  up  the  beautiful  Monongahela  river  the  last  time  that  he  visited 
his  boyhood  home,  some  twenty-odd  years  ago.  He  had  acquired  1,100 
acres  of  Pittsburg  coal  lands  in  the  vicinity  of  Elizabeth,  about  22  miles 
above  Pittsburg;  and  the  party  stopped  there  a  few  hours  to  permit  Mr 
Blaine  to  examine  his  property — which  he  termed  his  "savings  bank," 
since  he  had  acquired  it  by  the  occasional  purchase  of  small  farms  dur- 
ing a  period  of  several  years.  Being  curious  to  know  why  he  had  made 
an  investment  of  this  kind  so  far  removed  from  his  home  in  Maine,  I 
asked  him  how  it  happened.  His  reply  impressed  me  deeply,  because  it 
contained  a  prophecy.  He  said  that  cheap  fuel  was  the  most  important 
element  in  the  life  of  a  Nation,  and  that  in  looking  the  country  over  he 
had  concluded  that  there  was  more  of  it  easily  accessible  to  the  Pitts- 
burg region  than  in  any  other  portion  of  the  country,  so  that  the  Pitts- 
burg district  would  sometime  become  the  manufacturing  center  of  the 
world  and  that  investments  in  its  coal  fields  could  not  fail  to  prove 
remunerative.  The  prophecy  of  that  far-seeing  statesman  was  fulfilled 
much  sooner  than  even  he  expected,  since  Pittsburg  has  certainly  held 
first  place  among  the  work-shops  of  the  world  for  the  last  decade.  It  is 
not  generally  known  that  the  tonnage  originating  in  the  Pittsburg  dis- 
trict and  passing  through,  it  now  exceeds  that  of  the  four  greatest  seaport 
cities  of  the  world — London,  New  York,  Liverpool,  and  Hamburg — 
combined;  so  that  not  only  Pennsylvania  but  every  State  in  the  Nation 
is  interested  in  perpetuating  this  empire  of  industry  which  our  wonder- 
ful natural  resources  and  the  genius  of  the  American  people  have  con- 
quered. How  long  can  we  hope  to  maintain  this  industrial  supremacy 
in  the  iron  and  steel  business  of  the  world?  Just  so  long  as  the  Appala- 
chian coal-field  shall  continue  to  furnish  cheap  fuel;  and  no  longer.  If 
the  wasteful  methods  of  the  past  are  to  continue;  if  the  flames  of  35,000 
coke  ovens  are  to  continue  to  make  the  sky  lurid  within  sight  of  the  city 
of  Pittsburg,  consuming  with  frightful  speed  a  third  of  the  power  and 
half  of  the  values  locked  up  in  her  priceless  supplies  of  coking  coal,  the 
present  century  will  see  the  termination  of  this  supremacy.  Many  of 
you  may  not  credit  this  statement,  so  let  us  do  some  figuring  as  an  aid 
in  forecasting  the  future.  All  will  admit  that  no  portion  of  the  Appala- 
chian field  is  richer  in  fuel  resources  than  the  Pittsburg  district,  and  if 
we  can  estimate  approximately  how  long  its  fuel  will  last,  we  shall  have 
gaged  in  a  rough  way  the  productive  life  of  the  Appalachian  field. 

The  Pittsburg  Coal  Company  owned  on  January  1st,  1908  (according 
to  its  recent  annual  report),  143,000  acres  of  the  Pittsburg  coal-bed,  or 
practically  one-seventh  of  the  entire  acreage  of  this  famous  seam  remain- 
ing yet  unmined  in  Pennsylvania.  During  the  year  it  exhausted  2.241 
acres,  obtaining  therefrom  for  all  purposes  18,000,000  tons  of  coal,  or 
an  average  of  8,000  tons  to  the  acre,  leaving  in  the  ground  about  5,000 


(33) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


tons  per  acre  of  waste  and  unmined  fuel.  Hence  this  average  of  8,000 
tons  mav  be  taken  as  a  measure  of  the  total  amount  of  first-class  fuel 
that  will  be  won  under  present  mining  methods  from  each  acre  of  Pitts- 
burg coal  yet  remaining  unmined  in  the  Pittsburg  district. 

In  1906,  Pennsylvania  produced  109,000,000  tons  of  bituminous  coal, 
84,000,000  of  which  came  from  the  five  counties  of  Allegheny,  Fayette, 
Greene,  Washington  and  Westmoreland,  which  hold  practically  all  of 
Pennsylvania's  Pittsburg  coal  area.  In  1907  Pennsylvania  produced 
129,000,000  tons  of  bituminous  coal;  and  in  the  absence  of  exact  sta- 
tistics it  is  safe  to  say  that  at  least  100,000,000  tons  of  this  product  came 
from  the  five  counties  in  question,  and  not  less  than  95,000,000  tons  of 
it  from  the  Pittsburg  seam. 

There  remains  unmined  in  Pennsylvania  only  1,100,000  acres  of  this 
great  coal  bed,  or  a  total  available  product  of  8,800,000,000  tons  of  coal 
measured  by  the  quantity  (8,000  tons  per  acre)  obtained  by  the  best 
mining  methods  of  a  great  corporation  during  1907.  This  8,800,000,000 
divided  by  95,000,000  yields  a  quotient  of  only  93  as  the  number  of  years 
this  fuel  in  the  Pittsburg  seam  will  last  if  the  present  annual  production 
should  not  be  increased  by  a  single  ton.  But  who  is  there  to  say  it  will 
not  be  doubled  even  within  the  next  decade?     * 

The  West  Virginia  productive  area  of  this  great  bed  is  only  about  the 
same  as  that  of  Pennsylvania,  so  that  this  contiguous  region  can  add 
only  a  few  years  to  the  life  of  the  Pittsburg  coal  production. 

It  may  be  claimed  that  the  Allegheny  series  of  coals  which  underlie 
the  Pittsburg  bed  may  add  greatly  to  the  fuel  resources  of  the  Pittsburg 
district.  This  is  an  error,  since  the  coals  in  the  Allegheny  and  Cone- 
maugh  series  appear  to  thin  away  and  disappear  as  commercial  propo- 
sitions when  they  pass  beneath  the  principal  areas  of  the  Pittsburg  coal; 
while  the  active  demand  for  coal  at  the  seaboard  will  exhaust  all  of  the 
productive  areas  of  these  lower  and  thinner  coals,  with  our  present  waste- 
ful mining  methods,  even  before  the  Pittsburg  bed  fails. 

The  productive  coal  area  of  the  Appalachian  basin  has  been  greatly 
over-estimated  in  every  one  of  the  six  great  states  through  which  it 
passes  from  Pennsylvania  to  Alabama.  The  drill  of  the  seeker  for 
petroleum  and  natural  gas,  while  it  has  wasted  untold  millions  of  pre- 
cious fuel,  has  taughl  one  useful  lesson,  viz:  that  there  is  a  wide  area, 
50  to  75  miles  in  breadth,  deep  down  in  the  center  of  the  Appalachian 
in,  thai  is  practically  barren  of  commercial  coal.  This  barren  ana 
begins  with  the  lower  measures  just  north  from  Pittsburg,  and,  embrac 
ing  large  portions  of  the  former  supposed  coal  fields  of  both  Ohio  and 
Wesi  Virginia,  passes  southwestward  into  Kentucky,  having  a  breadth 

of  25  miles  when-  it  enters  thai  State. 

To  what   extent   the  productive  area  of  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and 
Alabama  will  be  affected  by  the  southward  extt  nsion  of  this  barren  belt , 


Address  by  I.  C.  White 


which  has  already  cut  the  former  estimates  of  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  and 
West  Virginia  in  half,  we  do  not  yet  know;  but  certain  it  is  that  all  the 
great  coal  formations,  instead  of  holding  productive  coal  entirely  across 
this  great  basin  as  formerly  supposed,  are  productive  only  as  fringes  20 
to  30  miles  in  breadth  around  the  borders  of  the  basin,  while  the  great 
central  trough  is  practically  destitute  of  valuable  coal.  Hence  with 
only  a  reasonable  estimate  for  increased  coal  production,  if  the  present 
wasteful  mining  methods  continue,  there  will  be  but  little  coal  for  manu- 
facturing purposes  within  100  miles  of  Pittsburg  at  the  opening  of  the 
next  century,  and  practically  no  cheap  fuel  left  in  the  entire  Appalachian 
basin  with  which  to  maintain  our  supremacy  in  the  iron  and  steel  trade 
of  the  world. 

The  prospect  is  not  a  pleasing  one  to  contemplate.  That  celebrated 
word-picture  of  Lord  Macaulay  in  which  he  describes  a  future  traveler 
as  standing  on  a  broken  arch  of  London  Bridge,  in  the  midst  of  a  vast 
solitude,  sketching  the  ruins  of  St.  Pauls,  may  find  its  substantial  coun- 
terpart much  nearer  home  than  we  could  wish.  True,  the  natural  wealth 
of  our  beloved  Union  is  so  great  and  varied;  our  riches  of  soil,  of  forest, 
and  of  stream  are  so  vast  if  preserved  and  their  boundless  possibilities 
thoroughly  utilized,  that  we  would  probably  have  the  advantage  of  all 
other  nations  in  the  struggle  for  existence,  even  after  our  fuel  resources 
have  been  exhausted;  but  this  is  no  reason  why  we  should  not  do  every- 
thing possible  to  conserve  them  so  that  we  may  retain  to  a  remote  future 
the  great  benefits  which  their  possession  assures. 

Honorable  Governors  of  the  several  States,  the  questions  involved  in 
this  discussion  are  those  in  which  you  and  your  constituents  are  most 
vitally  interested.  Our  patriotic  President,  ever  watchful  of  the  Nation's 
welfare  and  of  the  People's  interests,  ever  alert  to  guard  against  dangers 
from  without  or  the  more  insidious  foes  that  would  betray  the  People's 
liberties  from  within,  has  summoned  you  to  a  conference  more  important 
to  the  future  of  our  Great  Republic  than  any  council  that  has  ever 
before  met  in  the  history  of  our  country.  Our  honored  President  would 
protect  this  Nation,  not  alone  from  perils  on  the  ocean,  but  from 
the  graver  ones  on  land.  The  dangers  that  confront  us  on  the  Pacific 
as  well  as  the  Atlantic  are  serious  and  of  far-reaching  importance  to 
the  future  of  our  country;  and  the  People's  President,  under  whose 
wise  administration  there  is  happily  no  North,  no  South,  no  East,  no 
West,  and  to  whom  in  his  official  capacity  the  rights  of  all  citizens, 
whether  rich  or  poor,  white  or  black,  look  alike,  wall  be  sustained  by  a 
united  country  in  the  request  which  he  has  made  of  Congress  to  provide 
"big  sticks"  in  the  shape  of  an  adequate  navy  for  both  oceans  as  the 
surest  and  best  guarantee  of  either  peace  or  respect  from  the  other 
nations  of  the  earth.     But  the  dangers  that  confront  the  great  Republic 


(35) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

from  abroad  are  as  nothing  compared  to  the  perils  that  lurk  in  the 
shadows  at  home.  What  will  it  profit  this  nation  to  have  won  the 
wreath  of  industrial  supremacy,  if  in  our  thirst  for  gold  and  sudden 
riches  we  permit  corporate  greed,  as  well  as  individual  avarice  and 
selfishness,  to  waste  and  devastate  the  very  sources  of  our  prosperity? 
For  just  as  sure  as  the  sun  shines,  and  the  sum  of  two  and  two  is  four, 
unless  this  insane  riot  of  destruction  and  waste  of  our  fuel  resources 
which  has  characterized  the  past  century  shall  be  speedily  ended,  our 
industrial  power  and  supremacy  will,  after  a  meteor-like  existence,  revert 
before  the  close  of  the  present  century  to  those  Nations  that  conserve 
and  prize  at  their  proper  value  their  priceless  treasures  of  Carbon. 

Whatever  is  possible  in  the  shape  of  legislation  for  the  protection  ot 
our  fuel  resources  should  be  done  by  the  individual  States  which  you 
represent.  Twenty-nine  of  the  46  States  of  the  Union  produce  coal; 
24  of  these  produce  more  than  a  million  tons  annually,  while  practically 
the  same  number  produce  vast  quantities  of  both  petroleum  and  natural 
gas.  The  percentage  of  coal  left  in  the  ground  beyond  recovery,  as  we 
have  seen,  varies  from  40  to  70  in  the  different  fields,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  wasteful  and  extravagant  use  of  the  portion  extracted;  while  the 
waste  of  natural  gas,  the  most  precious  fuel  of  all,  is  so  vast  that  no  one 
can  even  approximate  the  percentage.  The  task  before  you  and  your 
constituencies  is  indeed  formidable.  The  forces  of  greed  and  selfishness 
are  so  entrenched  behind  corporate  power  and  influence  that  to  attack 
them  may  often  appear  to  you  useless  as  the  labors  of  Sisyphus;  but  as 
you  love  your  States  and  Country,  I  adjure  you  to  take  up  this  fight  for 
the  conservation  of  our  fuel  resources  with  the  determination  never  to 
surrender  until  the  forces  of  greed  and  avarice  which  are  so  rapidly 
sapping  the  very  foundations  of  our  country's  greatness  capitulate,  and 
agree  to  end  the  wild  riot  of  destruction  that  has  characterized  the  past. 

Mr.  President,  I  greatly  regret  that  the  part  assigned  to  me  in  this 
discussion  has  led  along  such  unpleasant  lines.  The  story  of  the  awful 
waste  of  our  most  valuable  natural  resources  is  one  of  such  a  disgraceful 
character  that  its  exposition  to  the  world  is  necessarily  mortifying  to  all 
patriotic  Americans;  but  a  sense  of  duty  to  our  common  Country  demands 
that  the  truth  be  told,  however  humiliating  to  our  national  pride. 

This  Conference  will  nol  have  met  in  vain  if  it  shall  result  in  awakening 
public  sentimenl  to  the  peril  which  overshadows  the  Republic  in  this 
uncontrolled  waste  and  dissipation  of  our  fuel  resources.  These  emi- 
nent Governors  whom  you  have  summoned  to  hear  this  narrative  of 
rapine  and  devastation,  to  man)  of  whom  the  story  is  new  and  almost 
unbelievable,  owe  you  a  debt  of  gratitude  which  they  can  only  ade- 
quately rousing  the  citizens  in  their  respective  States  to  such 
a  realization  of  the  gravit)  of  the  dangers  which  follow  in  the  wake  of 

(36) 


Address  by  I.  C.  White 


unbridled  waste  that  whatever  is  possible  for  legislation  to  accomplish 
may  be  speedily  enacted  into  law.  Forewarned  is  forearmed;  and  this 
Conference  which  has  brought  together  so  many  influential  citizens  from 
every  State  in  the  Union  should  not  fail  to  be  productive  of  untold  good 
to  the  Nation's  future. 


Dr  McGee:  Mr  Chairman,  allow  me  to  say  that  a  number  of  printed 
copies  of  the  statements  by  Mr  Carnegie  and  Dr  White  are  within  reach 
for  those  who  desire  to  discuss  them,  and  that  an  ample  supply  will  be 
within  the  reach  of  all  Conferees  before  the  day  is  over. 

The  Presiding  Officer  (Governor  Noel)  :  General  discussion  will  be 
opened  by  Mr  Mitchell,  who  will  be  followed  by  Mr  Bryan,  and  then  by 
others. 

GENERAL  DISCUSSION 


Address  by  John  Mitchell 

Mr  President  and  Gentlemen: 

In  discussing  the  conservation  of  our  natural  resources,  I  shall  confine 
my  remarks  to  that  phase  of  the  question  with  which  I  am  most  familiar. 

It  has  been  well  said  that — 

Coal  is  the  earth's  great  storage-battery  of  solar  energy.  In  the  Nation's  welfare  it 
represents  the  basis  of  the  heat,  power,  and  light  upon  which  the  Nation's  comfort 
and  the  Nation's  industries  depend.  Man  may  replant  the  forests,  and  the  rivers  will 
resume  their  courses  to  the  sea;  but  the  vegetation  necessary  to  produce  coal  can- 
not be  restored,  once  it  has  been  exhausted. 

Mining  experts  predict  that  under  present  methods  of  production  the 
coal  deposits  of  the  United  States  will  be  entirely  exhausted  within  two 
hundred  years.  It  is  contended  by  many  competent  investigators  that 
50%  of  our  coal  supply  is  destroyed  or  wasted  because  it  is  impracticable 
or  unprofitable  to  mine  it  under  present  commercial  conditions.  From 
observation  and  experience,  I  am  constrained  to  believe  that  this  esti- 
mate is  too  high.  I  am  convinced,  however,  that  by  the  present  methods 
of  mining  not  less  than  25%  of  the  coal  in  mines  that  have  been  de- 
veloped is  lost  beyond  hope  or  possibility  of  recovery. 

The  production  and  consumption  of  coal  must  be  considered  largely 
from  a  commercial  standpoint.  The  thin  seams  of  coal  and  the  thicker 
seams  in  mines  where  the  physical  conditions  are  unfavorable,  or  where 
the  coal  is  of  an  inferior  quality,  cannot  be  mined  or  marketed  profitably 
unless  perchance  they  are  located  in  close  proximity  to  great  centres  of 
industry. 

(37) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

The  low  cost  at  which  coal  is  produced  and  the  low  price  at  which  it 
is  sold  to  large  consumers  is  the  most  pronounced  incentive  to  waste  and 
extravagance.  If  American  manufacturers  and  other  great  consumers 
were  required  to  pay  a  higher  rate  for  fuel,  it  would  enable  mining  com- 
panies to  produce  and  prepare  for  market  countless  millions  of  tons  of 
coal  which  under  present  conditions  are  left  in  the  ground,  lost  to  the 
present  and  future  generations.  Consumers  of  coal  in  other  countries 
pay  from  one  and  one-half  to  two  and  one-half  times  as  much  for  fuel 
as  is  paid  by  American  manufacturing  and  railroad  companies.  In  other 
words,  large  corporations  in  our  country  purchase  bituminous  coal  at 
the  mines  for  less  than  one  dollar  per  ton,  while  like  concerns  in  other 
countries  pay  from  two  to  three  dollars  per  ton. 

It  is,  of  course,  important  to  the  well-being  and  prosperity  of  all  our 
People  that  large  consumers  be  furnished  a  fuel  supply  at  a  cost  suffi- 
ciently low  to  enable  them  to  compete  in  the  world's  markets  with  manu- 
facturers in  other  countries;  but  when  one  considers  the  tremendous  waste 
of  energy  that  accompanies  the  use  of  cheap  fuel,  the  conclusion  is  in- 
evitable that  this  very  cheapness  is  an  extravagance  and  not  an  economy. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  by  reason  of  improper  firing  and  imperfect  furnaces, 
three  tons  of  coal  are  consumed  in  creating  the  power  which  under  proper 
conditions  would  be  generated  by  the  use  of  one  ton. 

The  great  waste  in  the  production  of  coal  does  not  at  all  approximate, 
however,  the  waste  and  extravagance  in  its  consumption.  It  is  inter- 
esting to  note  that  under  the  present  process  of  burning,  only  from  5% 
to  10%  of  the  heat-units  in  bituminous  coal  are  utilized,  the  remaining 
90%  or  95%  being  wasted.  If  it  were  possible  to  utilize  all  the  heat- 
units,  our  coal  supply,  which  experts  predict  will  be  exhausted  by  the 
close  of  the  next  century,  would  last  for  more  than  two  thousand  years; 
and  while  the  ingenuity  of  man  may  not  be  able  to  devise  a  method 
whereby  all  the  heat-units  in  the  coal  shall  be  utilized,  it  is  quite  within 
the  range  of  probability  that  a  system  will  be  evolved  by  which  75%  of 
its  energy  will  be  used  for  heating,  power,  and  lighting  purposes.  Indeed, 
at  the  present  time,  through  a  process  of  converting  coal  into  gas  instead 
of  firing  the  coal  direct,  it  has  been  demonstrated  that  50%  of  the  heat- 
units  can  be  used  in  generating  motor  power.  The  general  adoption  of 
this  method  of  using  coal  would  insure  a  fuel  supply  for  al  least  one  thou- 
sand years,  even  though  there  were  not  further  improvements  in  methods 
of  consumption  and  no  greater  economy  in  production. 

While  it  may  nol  be  within  the  province-  of  the  Government  or  of  the 
State  i"  regulate  the  cosl  at  which  coal  shall  be  produced  or  the  prices 
at  which  it  shall  be  sold,  it  seems  to  me  that  much  good  would  result  by 
continuing  and  extending  the  investigations  which  are  being  made  rela 
to  methods  of  production  and  consumption  and  the  waste  attendant 
thereon. 


Address  by  John  Mitchell 


The  present  generation  has  no  moral  right  to  destroy  these  resources 
which  were  not  created  by  Man  or  given  solely  to  us.  Our  extravagant 
wastefulness  in  the  use  of  our  fuel  supply,  both  in  production  and  con- 
sumption, is  equalled  only  by  our  criminal  disregard  of  the  personal 
safety  and  the  lives  of  the  men  who  toil  in  the  mines.  For  every  190,000 
tons  of  coal  produced,  a  mine  worker  is  killed  and  several  are  seriously 
injured;  for  each  1,000  men  employed,  3.40  are  killed  annually.  Last 
year  nearly  2,500  men  were  killed  and  more  than  6,000  were  seriously 
injured  in  the  mining  industry  of  our  country.  No  other  country  in  the 
world  shows  so  large  a  percentage  of  fatalities.  Indeed,  in  those  for- 
eign countries  in  which  mining  is  most  hazardous  the  proportion  of  men 
killed  to  the  number  employed  is  from  50%  to  75%  less  tnan  in  our 
country.  It  is  a  sad  commentary  on  our  vaunted  civilization  that  more 
men  are  killed  or  crippled  in  mining  in  the  United  States  than  in  any 
other  nation  on  earth. 

In  our  mad  rush  for  spoils  and  profits,  we  not  only  waste  and  destroy 
those  material  resources  with  which  God  has  so  bountifully  endowed  us, 
but  we  press  forward  in  the  race  sacrificing  also,  unnecessarily,  the  lives 
and  the  comfort  of  our  fellow-beings. 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  time  has  come  when  we  should  stop  for  a 
moment  to  think — not  alone  of  those  inanimate  things  that  make  for 
comfort  and  prosperity,  but  also  of  the  men  and  the  women  and  the 
children  whose  toil  and  deprivation  have  made  and  will  continue  to 
make  our  country  and  our  people  the  most  progressive  and  the  most 
intelligent  of  all  the  nations  and  of  all  the  peoples  of  the  earth. 


The  Presiding  Officer  (Governor  Noel)  :  The  regular  program  being 
exhausted,  Mr  Bryan  will  lead  the  general  discussion. 

Mr  Bryan:  Mr  President,  there  are  Governors  here  from  the  States 
which  are  closely  identified  with  the  coal  and  iron  supplies,  and  I  prefer 
to  leave  them  to  discuss  this  question  and  reserve  what  I  have  to  say 
until  Friday,  when  I  can  speak  of  forestry  and  of  land  and  water  trans- 
portation. 

The  Presiding  Officer:  Gentlemen,  you  have  heard  Colonel  Bryan's 
statement;  he  prefers  to  deliver  his  address,  on  the  subject  of  forestry 
and  water  transportation,  on  Friday.  General  discussion  is  now  in  order. 
It  has  been  suggested  that  the  Governors  now  be  heard,  and  we  shall  be 
glad  to  hear  from  any  of  them  on  any  matter  pertaining  to  the  subjects 
on  which  papers  have  been  presented. 

Governor  Johnson  :  Mr  President 

The  Presiding  Officer:  Governor  Johnson  is  recognized.  Governor, 
will  you  not  take  the  platform? 

(39) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


Governor  Johnson:  Mr  President,  I  have  only  a  few  words  to  say, 
and  if  agreeable  I  should  prefer  to  say  them  from  this  position. 

The  Presiding  Officer:  The  Gentlemen  present  will  prefer  to  look 
you  in  the  face,  Governor.     Please  come  to  the  platform.     [Applause] 

Governor  Johnson  (on  taking  the  platform) :  My  purpose  was  really 
to  ask  another  gentleman  to  discuss  the  question;  but  now  that  I  have 
been  called  to  the  platform,  I  gladly  offer  a  few  remarks  of  my  own. 


Address  by  John  A.  Johnson 

GOVERNOR    OF    MINNESOTA 

Gentlemen: 

Two  propositions  have  been  submitted,  one  relative  to  coal  and  the 
other  to  iron.  The  Governor  of  Minnesota,  if  anyone  here,  should  be 
in  a  position  to  speak,  and  certainly  ought  to  be  able  to  say  something 
of  the  iron  industry  of  the  country;  and  I  apologize  for  not  being  in 
possession  of  the  information  which  I  ought  to  have,  to  speak  with  that 
intelligence  which  has  preceded  me,  and  which  has  been  so  delightfully 
illustrated  by  Mr  Carnegie  and  the  gentleman  who  followed  him. 

I  have  been  very  seriously  impressed  in  the  few  hours  during  which  we 
have  been  together.  It  does  seem  to  me ,  if  all  that  has  been  said  is  a  fact , 
and  I  assume  it  to  be  a  fact,  that  the  sun  of  the  prosperity  of  America 
seems  to  have  reached  the  summit ,  and  that  the  shadows  are  beginning 
to  find  their  place  on  the  other  side  of  the  hill;  and  while  I  realize  it  is 
going  to  make  no  particular  difference  to  us  of  this  generation,  the  great 
patriotic  duty  devolves  on  us  and  the  people  of  the  country  as  a  whole, 
to  do  that  which  is  going  to  work  out  some  solution  of  the  various  prob- 
lems for  the  future,  whether  that  is  to  be  a  hundred  years  or  two  hun- 
dred years. 

I  know  nothing  whatever  about  the  coal  end  of  this  discussion.  The 
word  "waste"  has  been  used  in  connection  with,  I  think,  both  the  mining 
of  iron  and  the  mining  of  coal,  but  not  in  the  same  degree.  I  am  rather  of 
the  opinion  that  so  far  as  we  are  concerned  in  the  north,  up  along  the 
Lake  Superior  northern  shore  there  is  not  that  waste  which  the  public 
might  infer  from  the  discussion  as  it  has  so  far  proceeded.  I  think  dur- 
ing the  old  days  on  the  Vermillion  Range — and  I  believe  Dr  Van  Ilise 
will  bear  me  out  in  this — there  was  some  waste  where  the  underground 
mining,  as  it  extended,  gave  way  to  the  cave-in,  and  the  mines  were 
deserted;  but  on  the  Mesabi  Range,  which  is  west  of  the  Vermillion 
Range,  and  not  very  far  removed  from  it,  the  mining  is  largely  of  the 
open  pit  character,  where  it  would  resemble  more  closely  the  usual  lime- 
stone quarrying. 


Address  by  Governor  Johnson 


There  the  iron  is  mined  with  steam  shovels  at  the  rate  of  50  tons  in  3^ 
minutes  out  of  the  native  bank,  and  put  in  the  cars,  where  nature,  by 
the  law  of  gravitation,  has  made  it  possible  for  the  companies  to  haul 
down  all  the  loaded  cars  which  they  can  haul  back  empty,  minimizing 
the  cost  of  transportation.  I  doubt  whether  there  is  any  waste  at  all. 
Possibly  the  stock  piles  contain  some  of  the  lower  grades  of  ore,  but 
very  little  of  it;  so  that,  so  far  as  Minnesota  is  concerned,  waste  is  not 
in  question.  The  mining  on  the  Mesabi  and  Vermillion  Ranges,  I  am 
sure — and  I  think  this  is  equally  true  of  the  ranges  along  the  southern 
shore — is  as  scientific  as  it  could  possibly  be,  and  that  it  is  not  excelled 
in  the  care  with  which  it  is  conducted  anywhere  in  the  world. 

I  am  rather  inclined  to  contradict  some  of  the  statements  that  have 
been  made,  if  I  might  be  permitted  to  do  that  as  a  thorough  novitiate; 
I  am  rather  a  stranger  in  the  realm  of  iron  to  contradict  any  presumption 
or  opinion  which  Mr  Carnegie  might  have.  Certainly  he  ought  to  have 
as  much  knowledge  on  the  subject  as  any  other  man  in  this  country 
except  possibly  Mr  Hill,  who  I  am  sure  will  be  glad  to  take  issue  with 
him  on  certain  things.     [Laughter] 

Twenty  years  ago  the  Mesabi  Range  was  scarcely  known.  It  had  been 
covered  with  this  dense  forest  which  is  also  a  subject  of  controversy 
before  the  Conference.  If  the  forest  there  had  been  conserved,  and  had 
been  set  aside  for  a  preserve,  the  iron  resources  of  the  country  would  not 
have  been  developed.  The  forests  gave  way,  and  finally  some  man 
discovered  the  red  ore  of  the  Mesabi  Range.  The  geologists  were 
invited  to  go  in  there  and  look  it  over,  and  to  analyze  and  observe  the 
specimens.  They  declared  it  was  not  a  merchantable  ore;  that  it  was 
not  of  any  value  at  all.  Within  twenty  years  the  judgment  of  the 
geologists  has  been  entirely  disproved,  because  it  has  come  to  be  known 
as  the  greatest  iron  region  on  this  hemisphere,  and  the  ore  is  of  a  very 
high  grade. 

At  that  time  the  region  was  comparatively  little  known.  I  think 
some  eight  or  ten  years  ago  Mr  Schwab,  who  was  connected  with  one  of 
the  companies  in  which  Mr  Carnegie  was  interested,  said  on  the  stand 
that  there  was  something  like  a  billion  tons  of  ore  in  that  region.  Mr 
Carnegie  says  it  is  a  billion  and  a  half  tons.  I  am  quite  sure  if  there  has 
been  the  growth  of  half  a  billion  tons  in  five  or  six  years,  there  will  not 
be  any  necessity  for  conservation  of  that  resource.  [Laughter]  Mr 
Thomas  Cole,  who  is  the  superintendent  of  all  the  mining  companies 
which  represent  Mr  Carnegie's  interests  in  the  United  States  Steel  Com- 
pany (who  have  charge  of  a  vast  proportion  of  the  independent  compa- 
nies), said  to  me  some  months  ago  that  we  have  just  begun  to  scratch 
the  surface.  I  am  absolutely  satisfied  that  in  that  country  within  the 
next  twenty  years  there  will  be  measured  up  to  an  almost  exact  mathe- 


(41) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

matical  calculation,  not  only  a  billion  and  a  half  tons,  but  three  billion, 
or  possibly  five  billion  more  tons  than  that. 

That  is  not  the  problem  with  us,  however.  I  was  very  much  interested 
in  the  last  remark  of  Mr  Carnegie,  when  he  spoke  of  the  inland  waterways. 
I  was  very  much  interested  in  the  way  the  President  paid  his  compliment 
to  the  Inland  Waterways  Commission  this  morning.  I  believe  from 
what  he  said  that  he  thought  it  a  very  important  organization,  and  that 
it  was  to  be  perpetuated.  [Applause]  In  the  long  run,  the  great  problem 
with  us  is  going  to  be,  and  it  is  now,  an  engineering  problem.  It  is  an 
engineering  proposition  entirely.  If  you  will  notice  the  line  that  marks 
the  Father  of  Waters — the  Mississippi — on  this  map,  you  will  find  it 
runs  almost  to  the  very  border  or  western  edge  of  Lake  Superior.  The 
Government  has  paid  sixty-odd  million  dollars  to  improve  Superior, 
Huron,  and  the  other  Great  Lakes;  I  think  less  than  $70,000,000  have 
been  invested  there,  and  they  have  made  out  of  it  the  greatest  com- 
mercial waterway  in  the  world — there  is  nothing  like  it.  [Applause] 
Now,  if  that  $70,000,000  will  make  out  of  that  the  greatest  commercial 
waterway  in  the  world,  what  would  a  few  intelligent  million  dollars 
amount  to?  If  Lake  Michigan,  from  the  southern  shore,  were  to  be 
canalized  into  the  Mississippi,  and  if  Lake  Superior  were  canalized  into 
the  upper  portion  of  the  Mississippi,  and  the  Mississippi  improved,  we 
should  be  given  the  power  of  distribution;  and  with  us  that  is  after  all 
the  great  problem. 

It  seems  there  are  two  problems  here,  not  only  the  conservation  of  the 
resources,  but  the  development  of  the  industries.  One  is  just  as  important 
as  the  other.  [Applause]  I  do  not  believe  the  American  people  want 
to  lock  up  these  iron  mines.  I  do  not  think  they  want  to  lock  up  the 
industries  of  the  Middle  West,  or  of  all  the  country.  I  think  what  they 
want  is  the  true  scientific  development  of  all  of  them;  and  the  future 
will  come  pretty  near  taking  care  of  itself. 

With  that  suggestion,  I  am  going  to  do  what  I  got  up  here  to  do  at  the 
outset.  I  am  going  to  ask  the  Conference  to  listen  to  Dr  Van  Hise,  the 
President  of  the  Association  of  Universities,  who  was  connected  for  many 
years  with  the  Geological  Survey,  and  has  had  probably  as  much  to  do 
with  the  iron  of  the  country,  practically,  as  any  other  man  here. 


The  Presiding  Officer  (Governor  Noel):  Gentlemen,  you  have  heard 
the  tion  of  Governor  Johnson.     Is  there  any  objection  to  hearing 

Dr  Van  Hise?     The  Chair  hears  none. 


(42) 


Address  by  President  Van  Hise 


Address  by  Charles  Richard  Van  Hise 
president  of  the  university  of  wisconsin 

Mr  Chairman,  Governors,  Gentlemen: 

In  considering  the  iron  ore  supply  of  the  United  States,  I  find  myself 
in  a  position  somewhat  intermediate  between  that  taken  by  Mr  Carnegie 
and  that  of  Governor  Johnson. 

According  to  Dr  C.  K.  Leith,  the  known  iron  ore  supply  of  the  Lake 
Superior  region  is  about  2,000,000,000  tons,  bearing  50%  or  more 
metalic  iron.  According  to  Dr  E.  C.  Eckel,  the  known  iron  ores  of  the 
Southern  Appalachians  reach  2,800,000,000  tons,  bearing  33%  to  50% 
metallic  iron;  averaging,  however,  nearer  the  lower  than  the  higher 
percentage.  Taking  into  account  the  difference  in  metalic  content,  the 
amount  of  iron  in  the  known  high  grade  ores  is  about  the  same  in  each 
of  the  two  regions.  While  these  two  regions  contain  the  great  known 
supply  of  iron  ore  in  the  United  States,  the  known  deposits  of  the  Central 
and  Eastern  States  are  not  unimportant.  Also  the  known  deposits  of 
the  Western  States  are  large,  although  not  to  be  compared  with  those 
of  the  Lake  Superior  region  or  the  South. 

While  the  amount  of  iron  ore  which  has  been  mined  in  the  United 
States  has  been  rapidly  increasing  during  the  past  twenty-five  years, 
rising  in  1883  from  9,400,000  tons  to  over  58,000,000  tons  for  1907,  the 
discovery  of  new  deposits  has  gone  on  at  even  a  more  rapid  rate,  so  that 
it  is  certain  for  the  Lake  Superior  and  the  Southern  Appalachian  regions, 
together  as  well  as  separately,  more  iron  ore  is  now  known  to  exist  than 
at  any  previous  time  in  the  history  of  the  country.  If  the  grade  of  what 
is  called  "iron  ore"  for  the  Lake  Superior  region  should  be  dropped  from 
50%  to  40% — and  some  material  is  already  mined  which  runs  between 
these  figures — the  amount  of  ore  would  be  enormously  increased.  But 
no  quantitative  statement  can  be  made  at  the  present  time  in  reference 
to  additions  which  would  be  thus  available.  Also  in  the  Southern  Appa- 
lachians, Eckel  estimates  that  the  probable  amount  of  iron  ore  which 
will  become  known  in  the  future  by  deep  mining  (that  is,  below  the 
thousand-foot  level),  especially  if  the  percentage  of  metallic  iron  be 
somewhat  lowered,  will  greatly  exceed  the  present  known  deposits; 
indeed,  he  suggests  that  future  development  along  this  line  may  amount 
to  three  times  as  much  as  the  present  estimated  supply,  or  8,400,000,000 
tons.  This  forecast  may  be  too  sanguine,  and  it  is  admittedly  more  or 
less  conjectural.  However,  it  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  the  quantity 
of  iron  ore  to  become  known  in  the  future  in  the  South  is  large. 

In  considering  the  material  available  to  the  United  States  we  should 
take  account  of  the  supplies  in  adjacent  countries.     Mexico  is  as  yet 

(43) 
56254—09 6 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

very  imperfectly  explored.  In  Canada  there  are  vast  areas  of  wholly 
unexplored  territory.  In  Cuba  examinations  made  by  Spencer  show 
that  the  known  deposits  of  iron  ore  of  fair  metallic  content  are  very 
large,  and  some  of  the  more  extensive  of  these  deposits  are  already 
controlled  by  United  States  capital.  Of  the  South  American  iron  ore 
resources,  we  are  as  yet  very  imperfectly  informed. 

While  the  additions  to  the  known  supplies  of  iron  ore  available  to  the 
United  States,  which  are  to  be  made  by  discoveries  in  western  United 
States,  in  Canada,  in  Mexico,  in  Cuba,  and  in  South  America,  are  uncer- 
tain, it  is  hardly  possible  that  the  amount  will  be  unimportant;  but  as 
yet  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  discoveries  in  any  of  these  coun- 
tries, with  the  possible  exception  of  Cuba,  will  reveal  iron  ore  deposits 
comparable  in  importance  to  the  Lake  Superior  and  the  Southern  Appa- 
lachian regions. 

From  the  foregoing  facts  it  appears  probable  that  for  some  years  to 
come,  iron  ore  available  in  the  United  States  will  continue  to  be  dis- 
covered more  rapidly  than  it  is  exploited;  and  consequently  the  known 
total  will  increase  rather  than  decrease.  Hence  the  crest  for  known 
iron  ore  of  high  grade  may  be  some  years  in  the  future. 

It  thus  appears  that  with  reference  to  the  iron  ore  which  may  be 
available  for  the  United  States,  we  have  to  consider  both  the  known  or 
discovered  supply  and  the  unknown  supply  which  may  in  the  future 
be  discovered.  Governor  Johnson  has  suggested  that  for  Minnesota, 
the  latter  may  be  much  larger  than  the  former.  It  appears  to  me 
rather  probable,  both  for  that  State  and  for  the  country  as  a  whole, 
that  the  high-grade  ores  which  are  yet  to  be  discovered  will  not  exceed 
in  magnitude  those  which  have  been  discovered,  and  they  may  fall  far 
short  of  them.  Even  if  it  be  assumed  that  the  high  grade  iron  ore, 
containing  50%  or  more  of  metallic  iron,  remaining  to  be  discovered  is 
as  great  as  the  amount  which  is  now  known,  allowing  for  a  moderate 
increase  of  production,  iron  ore  of  this  class  would  scarcely  last  for  a 
century.  If,  however,  what  is  called  "ore"  be  defined  to  include  all 
material  above  35%,  the  available  material  will  last  for  a  considerable 
longer  period  than  a  century,  possibly  several  centuries,  even  if  the  rate 
of  production  increase  somewhat  rapidly. 

But  in  this  connection  it  is  to  be  remembered  that  as  the  percentage 
of  metal  in  the  ore  goes  down,  a  larger  amount  of  coal  is  required  to 
obtain  a  ton  of  iron,  and  therefore  that  in  proportion  as  our  rich  ores  are 
exhausted,  the  draft  will  become  steadily  heavier  upon  that  most  impor- 
tant of  the  underground  resources — fuel. 

Turning  now  to  another  metal,  copper:  So  far  as  1  know,  there  has 
been  no  systematic  attempt  to  estimate  the  known  supply  of  ore.     The 


(44) 


Address  by  President  Van  Hise 

copper  product  of  the  United  States,  as  well  as  that  of  the  world,  steadily 
increased  for  many  years  until  1906,  when  maxima  of  444,000  tons  as 
the  output  of  the  United  States,  and  about  790,000  tons  for  the  world, 
were  reached.  The  United  States  product  for  the  year  1907  decreased 
by  51.656  tons;  whether  this  great  check  was  temporary  is  uncertain,  but 
it  suggests  that  if  we  have  not  already  reached  the  crest  of  production 
for  copper  we  are  nearing  it. 

The  rapid  annual  increase  in  the  output  of  copper  for  the  past  dozen 
years  has  only  been  accomplished  by  the  exploitation  of  increasingly 
lower  grade  ores  in  at  least  two  of  the  most  important  districts— those 
of  Lake  Superior  and  Montana.  With  copper  as  with  iron,  it  is  to  be 
remembered  that  as  the  grade  of  ore  goes  down,  it  will  ultimately  cost 
more  to  produce  a  pound  of  metal,  and  therefore  that  as  the  grade  of 
ore  decreases  the  price  of  the  copper  must  finally  rise— although  this 
result  has  been  deferred  by  great  improvement  in  mining  and  extraction, 
combined  with  handling  the  ore  on  a  great  scale. 

For  lead  and  zinc,  gold  and  silver,  it  is  not  possible  to  make  definite 
statements  as  to  known  ore  supplies.  These  metals  are  usually  developed 
in  the  mines  only  to  a  limited  degree  in  advance  of  their  exploitation. 
Therefore  there  never  has  been  at  any  time  many  years  supply  of  the 
ores  of  lead  and  zinc,  of  gold  and  silver,  in  sight.  There  are  no  great 
known  bodies  of  these  metals  in  the  sense  that  deposits  are  known 
of  iron  ore.  However,  exploration  and  exploitation  have  gone  on 
together,  with  the  result  that  there  has  been  a  steadily  increasing  output 
of  these  metals  both  for  the  United  States  and  for  the  world.  Indeed, 
the  increase  for  the  last  twenty-five  years  has  been  remarkable.  The 
percentages  of  increase  for  1907  as  compared  with  1883,  twenty-five 
years  previously,  are  as  follows : 

Forlead I50      % 

For  zinc 53?      % 

For  eold A„      ^ 

6  62.9    % 

Forsilver 2I  g  % 

Apparently  the  maximum  output  for  none  of  these  metals  has  been 
reached,  with  the  exception  of  silver,  which  for  the  United  States  has 
been  nearly  horizontal  for  about  fifteen  years,  and  for  the  world  has 
somewhat  declined  for  the  last  half-dozen  years,  as  compared  with  the 
previous  period  of  the  same  length.  How  long  we  may  expect  an  increase 
in  the  output  of  lead,  zinc,  and  gold  is  uncertain,  but,  as  in  the  case  of 
copper,  it  may  be  said  that  the  maintaining  of  an  increasing  output  in 
the  United  States  and  for  the  world  has  been  made  possible  only  by 
utilization  of  lower  grade  ores. 

It  is  a  conservative  statement  to  make  that,  during  the  last  half  century, 
there  has  been  taken  from  the  earth  more  of  our  metallic  wealth  than 

(45) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


during  all    the  previous  history  of   its  exploitation.     For  some  of   the 
metals  we  may  illustrate  the  marvelous  increase  since  1850. 

From   1S10  to  the  amount  of  iron  ore  exploited  in  the  United 

Sta  -timated  at  5,000,000  tons;  and  from  1854  to  1907  at  more  than 

700,000,000  tons.     The  pig-iron  product  of  the  world  from  the  year  1500 
to  1850  0  limated  at  about  125,000,000  tons;  and  from  1850 

to  1906  i  rs)  at  i,i  13,000,000  tons,  or  about  nine  times  as  great. 

The  amount  of  copper  which  was  taken  out  before  1850  in  the  United 
tea  is  inconsiderable,  but  in  1906  it  reached  58%  of  the  world's  pro- 
duction.    For  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  copper  pro- 
duction of  the  world  was  913,168  tons,  and  for  the  second  half  9,717,000 
tons,  or  more  than  ten  times  as  much. 

The  gold  production  of  the  world  from  1493  to  1850  (358  years)  is  esti- 
mated at  152,779,050  ounces  troy,  and  from  1851  to  1907  at  450,075,135 
ounces,  or  about  three  times  as  much. 

The  increase  in  the  amount  of  silver  mined  was  not  so  great  as  for  gold. 
The  estimated  silver  product  from  1493  to  1850  (358  years)  is  4,816,- 
939,012  ounces  troy,  and  from  1851  to  1907  (58  years)  5,166,804,675 
oum 

The  above  figures  illustrate  the  point  that  the  exploitation  of  the  base 

metals,  iron,  copper,  lead,  and  zinc,  was  relatively  unimportant  until 

the  middle  of  the  last  century,  whereas  the  amounts  of  the  noble  metals 

ioited  before  1850  were  important.     So  far  as  the  progress  of  the 

rid  is  concerned,  there  is  no  question  that  the  base  metals  are  of 

immeasurably  greater  consequence  than  the  noble  metals. 

Statements  similar  to  those  concerning  the  base  metals  may  be  made 

n   emphatically  in  reference  to  coal.     Illustrative  of  this  in  the 

(Jnil  i,   the  coal  production  of  the  year   1856  was   12,293,000 

for    1907  it  was  about  429,000,000    tons,  or  more  than 

thirty-three  times  as  great.     Similar,  although  perhaps  not  so  striking 

figures  might  be  given  for  other  countries,  so  that  it  is  safe  to  say  that 

;   coal  exploited  in  the  last  half-century  for  the  world  is 

ral  times  il  as  the  amount  mined  during  all  previous  time. 

The  above  statistic-,  show  that  during  the  last  half -century  our  metallic 

and  coal  have  been  drawn  upon  at  a  rate  which  has  never 

before  been  dreamed  of.     This  revolution  has  been  largely  due  to  the 

of  applied  ■  and  its  application  to  machinery  and  transportation. 

li  in  tead  of  the  last  half  century  the  last  quarter-century  only  were 

!,  the  enormous  drafts  upon  our  metallic  resources  would  seem 

a  more   itartling.      During  this  period  the  total  value  of  the  annual 

metallic  and  nonmetallic,  or  roughly,  the  mine  products  of  the  United 

•  in  about  $4  (7,(.kx>,ooo  to  over  $2,000,000,000,  or 
m  mr  times. 


Address  by  President  Van  Hise 


Since  the  great  acceleration  in  the  exploitation  of  our  metallic  resources 
has  occurred  so  recently,  the  yard-stick  with  which  we  are  to  project 
into  the  future  is  very  short.  We  do  not  know  whether  the  acceleration 
of  exploitation  of  the  past  few  years  will  be  continued  at  the  same  rate, 
though  it  seems  rather  probable  that  the  time  is  near  at  hand  when  the 
rate  of  acceleration  will  lessen;  but  whatever  we  may  conclude  in  refer- 
ence to  this  matter,  we  can  not  doubt  that  for  many  years  to  come  the 
amount  of  metals  extracted  for  any  one  decade  will  exceed  that  of  the 
previous  decade,  that  is,  that  the  acceleration  will  proceed  at  some  rate. 
Also  it  has  been  seen  that  while  an  approximate  estimate  can  be  made 
of  the  known  resources,  not  even  an  approximate  estimate  can  be  made 
of  the  deposits  yet  to  be  developed  or  discovered  in  unexplored  territory. 
Hence  it  is  not  possible  to  make  any  definite  forecasts  as  to  the  time 
when  the  ores  of  any  given  metal  will  be  exhausted. 

On  the  whole  the  foregoing  very  brief  review  of  the  situation  does  not 
warrant  such  extremely  pessimistic  views  as  have  sometimes  been  stated 
in  reference  to  our  supply  of  iron,  lead,  copper,  zinc,  gold,  and  silver. 
It  is  probable  that  we  of  this  generation  shall  not  see  any  great  shortage 
of  these  metals.  The  same  may  be  true  for  the  next  generation,  but 
even  the  most  sanguine  calculations  can  not  hold  out  the  hope  that  the 
available  high-grade  ores  of  iron,  copper,  lead,  zinc,  gold,  and  silver,  at 
the  present  rate  of  exploitation,  will  last  for  many  centuries  into  the 
future.  And  what  are  one  or  even  several  centuries  compared  with  the 
expected  future  life  of  the  Nation  ? 

But  it  may  be  said  that  when  the  metallic  ores  are  mined  and  reduced, 
the  metals  are  but  put  into  a  more  available  form;  in  short,  that  they  are 
capitalized.  This  is  true  in  large  measure  for  all  the  metals.  It  may  be 
very  well  illustrated  by  the  world  supply  of  gold  now  in  the  treasuries 
of  banks  and  circulating  among  the  people,  estimated  at  about  $7,000,- 
000,000.  However,  it  is  plain  that  with  the  baser  metals,  lead,  zinc, 
copper,  and  iron,  we  are  very  careless  in  preserving  the  existing  accu- 
mulation. These  materials  are  so  handled  that  the  yearly  losses  are 
very  great.  By  care  and  economy  the  losses  could  be  immensely  reduced, 
and  thus  our  capital  of  metals  could  be  kept  in  a  relatively  unimpaired 
condition. 

Certain  it  is  that  it  took  the  building  of  the  world,  involving  concen- 
tration and  reconcentration  of  the  metals  in  order  to  produce  the  ore 
deposits.  The  process  of  their  formation  is  so  slow  that  so  far  as  we  are 
concerned  it  may  be  ignored  as  a  basis  for  new  supply.  We  and  our 
descendants  are  in  the  position  of  a  man  who  has  in  the  bank  a  definite 
amount  of  money  upon  which  he  may  draw  during  his  lifetime.  He  may 
be  more  or  less  ignorant  of  the  amount  which  is  available  in  the  bank,  as 
we  are  ignorant  of  the  amount  of  metallic  ores  available  in  the  bank  of 


(47) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


the  earth.  It  is  therefore  obviously  our  duty  in  exploiting  the  metallic 
ores  to  do  this  in  such  a  fashion  that  the  lower  grades  not  now  available 
because  of  market  conditions  may  in  the  future  be  exploited.  Also  it  is 
plainly  our  duty  to  use  metals  which  have  been  mined  and  reduced  so 
that  the  yearly  loss  shall  be  small  as  possible.  In  short  we  should  keep 
the  capital  as  nearly  unimpaired  as  practicable.  These  two  duties  are 
dearly  before  this  generation..  If  they  are  disregarded,  our  descendants 
will  charge  us  with  wanton  extravagance.  We  shall  be  in  the  position  of  a 
father  who  has  wasted  his  patrimony  and  left  a  diminished  estate  to  his  son. 

Of  our  mineral  resources,  the  deposits  of  coal  are  by  all  odds  of  the 
test  consequence.  Next  to  coal  is  iron.  For  the  United  States  the 
market  values  of  these  two  products  of  the  earth  greatly  exceed  that 
of  all  other  mine-  products,  and  are  second  only  to  the  soil  among  our 
natural  resources.  Fortunately  in  this  land  our  coal  supply  comprises 
three*  classes — lignite,  bituminous,  and  anthracite;  and  each  is  vast  in 
amount.  In  having  an  enormous  quantity  of  anthracite,  this  Nation 
a  unique  position;  but  the  deposits  of  this  class  are  confined  to  one 
small  area  in  Pennsylvania.  Anthracite  is  so  superior  to  bituminous 
coal  and  to  lignite  for  domestic  purposes,  and  especially  for  heating 
houses,  that  it  has  a  great  advantage  in  competition  with  them. 

According  to  Frank  Julian  Ware,a  "Eight  important  railway  systems 
now  exercise  an  absolute  monopoly  over  hard-coal  mining.  *  *  * 
Together  they  own  more  than  nine-tenths  of  the  entire  anthracite  deposits 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  about  three-fourths  of  the  total  production  is 
mined  by  their  subsidiary  coal  companies."  With  reference  to  the 
control  of  iron  ores  in  the  United  States,  the  Steel  Corporation  has  a 
dominating  position.  Of  the  known  iron  ore  deposits  of  high  grade  in 
the-  United  States,  it  is  estimated  that  the  United  States  Steel  Corpora- 
tion owns  80%  (and  some  estimates  are  even  higher).  Thus  a  few  cor- 
are  in  a  position  approaching  monopoly  with  reference  to  two 
the  ini»-.t  fundamental  resources  of  the  Nation. 

It  took  millions  of  years  of  labor  of  sun  and  earth  to  manufacture 
tlu  it  natural  sources  of  wealth.     They  are  the  inalienable  heritage  of 

our  People,  and  not  of  a  chosen  few.  Under  our  laws  we  have  largely 
eiu rusted  them  to  the  care-  of  great  corporations.  These  corporations 
must  SO  administer  their  trust  that  the  people  shall  possess  their  heritage. 
I  do  not  mean  to  Uggest  that  the  corporations  now  controlling 
properties  should  be-  wrronged,  but  they  should  understand  that 
they  are  in  the  position  of  trustees  with  reference  to  these  great  sources 

if  they  do  not  willingly  administer  them  fairly  and  to 
the  People,  the  Nation  and  the  States  not  only  ought 
to  but  will  prescribe  all  regulations  necessary  to  accomplish  this. 

lutlook,  February  15,  100H,  p.  357. 


Informal  Discussion  of  Program 


The  Presiding  Officer  (Governor  Noel)  :  Gentlemen,  I  suggest  that 
the  Committee  on  Resolutions  report  in  the  morning  on  a  temporary 
form  of  organization  and  order  of  business.  If  there  is  no  objection, 
we  will  just  consider  that  instruction  passed  over  to  the  Committee. 

Governor  Blanchard:  Mr  President,  I  would  like  to  give  notice  right 
now,  following  your  suggestion,  that  the  Committee  on  Resolutions  will 
hold  a  meeting  immediately  after  the  adjournment  of  the  Conference 
this  afternoon.  The  Committee  on  Resolutions,  besides  myself,  consists 
of  the  following  Governors:  Fort,  of  New  Jersey;  Cutler,  of  Utah ;  David- 
son, of  Wisconsin;  and  Ansel,  of  South  Carolina.  Those  gentlemen  will 
please  meet  me  immediately  following  the  adjournment  this  afternoon 
for  a  brief  conference  over  in  the  corner  of  this  room. 

I  would  further  ask,  while  I  am  on  my  feet,  Mr  President,  that  the 
Committee  on  Resolutions  have  the  permission  of  the  Conference  to  sit 
during  the  sessions  of  the  Conference. 

The  Presiding  Officer:  You  have  heard  the  remarks  of  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Louisiana.  If  there  is  no  objection,  the  course  suggested  by 
him  will  be  followed.  The  Committee  will  meet  as  requested,  and  it 
will  have  the  privilege  of  holding  its  sessions  during  the  Conference,  and 
will  also  be  charged  with  the  duty  of  suggesting  to  us  in  the  morning  a 
form  of  organization  and  order  of  business.  If  there  is  no  objection  to 
that  course,  it  will  all  be  taken. 

Governor  Blanchard:  Is  that  form  of  organization  of  which  you 
speak  for  the  present  Conference? 

The  Presiding  Officer:  Yes;  for  the  present  Conference. 

Governor  Folk:  Have  we  not  a  regular  order  of  business  printed? 

The  Presiding  Officer:  We  are  going  to  follow  the  program,  but  the 
program  is  exhausted,  and  we  are  on  an  order  of  business,  with  no  order, 
now. 

Governor  Blanchard:  I  am,  just  at  the  moment  at  least,  at  a  loss  to 
know  what  kind  of  a  form  of  organization  it  is  expected  the  Committee 
on  Resolutions  will  report,  for  the  management,  so  to  speak,  of  the  Con- 
ference, tomorrow.  As  suggested  by  the  Governor  of  Missouri,  there  is  a 
printed  calendar  to  follow,  and  we  are  following  it  this  afternoon.  There 
are  papers  to  be  read  by  gentlemen  to  whom  that  task  has  been  assigned, 
to  be  followed  by  general  discussion,  such  as  that  which  is  taking  place 
now.  The  President  of  the  United  States  is  President  of  this  Confer- 
ence, and  he  has  named  yourself  to  preside  over  it  this  afternoon  in  his 
absence.  Tomorrow  he  has  named  to  preside  over  it  in  his  absence  the 
Governor  of  Minnesota.  It  seems  to  me,  with  all  due  deference  to  the 
Chair,  that  we  have  enough  of  organization  at  present.     [Laughter] 

The  Presiding  Officer  :  The  Governor  of  Louisiana  is  trying  to  throw 
on  me  and  off  of  himself  some  of  the  troubles  that  now  confront  us. 


(49) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


Governor  Folk:  This  matter  can  be  settled,  Mr  President.  We  have 
an  organization  in  so  far  as  the  Presiding  Officer  is  concerned.  The 
President  having  called  this  Conference,  he  is  the  Presiding  Officer,  and 
vou  are  now  acting  for  him.  He  has  requested  some  gentlemen  to  act 
as  secretaries  in  taking  down  the  minutes.  I  think,  however,  we  should 
have  at  least  an  Honorary  Secretary  from  among  the  Governors.  I  there- 
nominati  rnor  Burke  of  North  Dakota. 

The  Presiding  Officer:  It  is  moved  and  seconded  that  Governor 
Burke  of  North  Dakota  be  nominated  for  Honorary  Secretary. 

Governor  Blanch ard:  I  second  that  motion. 

The  Presiding  Officer:  Is  there  any  other  nomination?  If  not,  the 
nominations  will  be  closed. 

The  question  upon  agreeing  to  the  motion  was  put  to  the  Conference, 
and  it  was  agreed  to. 

The  Presiding  Officer:  With  regard  to  the  question  of  program, 
which  I  brought  up  a  moment  ago;  a  program  is  arranged,  but  not  in  all 
its  details.  We  have  the  times  of  meeting.  We  have  the  leading  sub- 
jects of  discussion.  They  have  all  been  arranged,  and  admirably 
arranged;  but  then  when  this  discussion  is  over,  as  it  is  over  now,  so 
far  as  the  program  is  concerned,  it  has  been  suggested  that  the  next 
order  would  be  that  the  Governors  would  be  called  on  for  remarks,  then 
the  members  of  the  Conference,  the  Members  of  Congress,  the  members 
of  the  Cabinet,  and  others  who  are  included  in  the  call,  and  then  after- 
ward their  associates  or  the  representatives  of  the  special  interests.  We 
lit  to  have  something  definite  along  that  line. 

Governor  BLANCH  ARD:  I  would  suggest  to  the  Chair  that  the  calendar 

which  he  holds  in  his  hand  contemplates  that  after  the  prepared  papers 

read  and  general  discussion  follows,  not  only  the  Governors 

but  other  gentlemen  invited  to  this  Conference  can  participate  in  such 

ion. 

The  PRESIDING  ( OFFICER:  It  is  with  regard  to  the  order  for  discussion, 

QOT,  that  I  am  now  considering  it.     It  is  not  as  to  who  can  discuss, 

but  who  is  to  discuss  first,  and  how  it  shall  be  presented.     That  is  one 

•  be  problems. 

Gov.  rnor  Blanchard:  I  have  no  doubt  there  are  gentlemen  now 
:.  within  hearing  of  the  sound  of  my  voice,  who  are  anxious 
the  discussion  so  admirably  begun  by  the  Governor  of 
Mill  in  -ota. 

Tb  G  OFF]  Wry  well;  I  will  follow  out  the  suggestion. 

■  ill  be  easier  to  make  an  order  of  busuu  ss  t  ban  it  will  be  to  manufac- 

through   tl  or  of    Louisiana,  who  is  so  opposed   to  it. 

[Laughter]      '1  Ither  is  warm,  and  no  doubt  he-  wants  rest. 


(50) 


Informal  Discussion  of  Program 


It  has  been  suggested  that  the  next  discussion  will  be  from  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Conference,  strictly  so-called,  who  are  the  Governors,  the 
Members  of  the  Cabinet,  the  Justices  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  the 
Representatives  and  Senators. 

Governor  Folk:  Mr  President,  who  else  could  discuss  it  here? 

The  Presiding  Officer:  The  associates  could  discuss  it.  The  repre- 
sentatives and  specialists  on  various  lines  could  discuss  it. 

Governor  Folk  :  Did  you  mean  to  exclude  from  discussion  those 
invited  by  the  Governors? 

The  Presiding  Officer:  Oh,  no;  but  we  want  to  arrange  the  order. 

Governor  Johnson  :  In  the  absence  of  any  formal  organization ,  let 
us  make  it  an  indiscriminate  fight,  and  let  everyone  in  the  room  talk 
just  exactly  as  he  pleases. 

Mr  Snyder:  Mr  President,  I  move  that  we  adjourn  at  5  oclock,  and 
that  addresses  be  limited  to  five  minutes. 

The  motion  was  seconded. 

The  Presiding  Officer  :  That  cannot  be  put  all  at  once.  The  first 
question  is,  shall  discussion  be  limited  to  five  minutes;  during  this  after- 
noon ten  minutes  has  been  the  regular  order.  Are  there  any  remarks? 
The  question  is  upon  agreeing  to  the  limitation  to  five  minutes. 

The  question  was  put  upon  agreeing  to  the  motion,  and  it  was  not 
agreed  to. 

The  Presiding  Officer  :  We  will  not  consider  the  motion  to  adjourn. 
That  is  a  separate  proposition  just  now.  "We  will  consider  that  when 
the  order  is  presented.  The  meeting  is  open  for  all  discussion.  All 
present  are  members,  the  press  included.  There  has  been  no  limitation; 
but,  Governor,  I  suggest  you  do  really  prepare  some  order.      [Laughter] 

Governor  Blanchard:  Mr  President,  I  will  relieve  the  anxiety  of  the 
distinguished  Governor  of  Mississippi  by  assuring  him  that  the  Com- 
mittee on  Resolutions  will  report  an  order  of  business. 

The  Presiding  Officer:  Yes;  we  need  one;  not  to  displace  anything 
that  has  already  been  arranged,  but  in  amplification  of  it. 

Mr  Goudy:  At  the  request  of  the  Sixteenth  National  Irrigation  Con- 
gress, I  desire  to  announce  that  there  will  be  a  meeting  of  the  Executive 
Committee  of  that  body  in  the  parlors  of  the  Hotel  Raleigh  tomorrow 
morning  at  9  oclock,  and  as  there  are  matters  of  importance  to  come  up 
I  hope  all  the  members  who  are  present  here  will  attend. 

The  Presiding  Officer:  It  has  been  suggested  that  resolutions  can 
be  handed  directly  to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions.  If  there  is  no 
objection,  that  suggestion  will  be  considered  as  adopted.  In  that  event, 
you  can  give  the  title  of  the  resolution  to  the  Secretary  and  hand  it  in 
tomorrow  morning,  and  in  that  way  it  will  appear  on  the  journal.     The 


(50 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

resolutions  will  be  considered  as  having  been  offered  today  and  referred 
without  discussion.     Are  there  any  remarks  now  from  any  source? 

Mr  BARRETT:  Mr  President,  I  move  that  Governor  Hughes  of  New 
York  be  invited  to  address  the  Conference.     [Applause] 

Mr  SHERMAN:  Governor  Hughes  of  New  York  has  been  compelled  to 
leave  the  city  to  return  to  Albany. 

The  PRESIDING  Officer:  We  very  much  regret  it. 

Mr  John  Hays  Hammond,  President  of  the  American  Institute  of 
Mining  Engineers,  is  recognized. 

Address  by  John  Hays  Hammond 

Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen: 

It  has  unfortunately  become  the  popular  custom  to  speak  of  the  natural 
resources  of  our  Country  as  illimitable,  and  consequently  to  regard  the 
discussion  of  the  conservation  of  these  resources  as  academic,  or  at  the 
best  as  scientific  speculation.  All  efforts  heretofore  of  a  few  enthusiastic 
theorists — as  thev  were  considered — have  availed  naught  to  disturb  this 
imperturbable  complacency  and  optimism.  Today,  however, at  the  elev- 
enth hour,  thanks  to  the  persistency  of  these  same  far-sighted,  public- 
spirited,  and  eminently  practical  men — as  they  are  now  regarded — we 
realize  for  the  first  time  the  gravity  of  the  situation.  We  see,  at  last,  that 
this  is  not  a  subject  affecting  future  generations  only,  but  that  it  is  one  of 
vital  and  immediate  concern  to  ourselves  and  to  our  children.  We  see, 
too,  that  it  is  not  a  question  confined  to  particular  localities,  or  to  special 
classes  in  the  community,  but  that  it  is  one  of  transcendent  interest  to 
:  v  inhabitant  of  this  land. 

Furthermore,  we  see  that  the  greatness  of  our  Nation,  based  as  it  is 
upon  its  industrial,  its  commercial,  and  its  financial  supremacy,  depends 
absolutely  on  the  conservation  of  its  natural  resources;  and  we  recognize 
therefore,  the  fact  that  the  spirit  of  patriotism,  as  well  as  that  of  enlight- 
ened  self-interest,  demands  our  hearty  cooperation  in  this  great  work. 

In  connection  with  our  efforts  to  prevent  the  waste  of  our  natural 
!  here  is  no  more  promising  field  than  in  the  conservation  of  our 
natural  gas  and  of  our  coal  deposits. 

Dr  White  estimates  the  waste  of  natural  gas,  (which  is,  as  he  says,  "  the 
purest  form  of  fuel,  ideal  in  every  respect")  at  a  billion  cubic  feet  daily, 
equivalent  to  a  heating  value  of  a  million  bushels  of  coal.  This  is,  as  he 
lightly  remarks,  "an  appalling  record  to  transmit  to  posterity." 

There  is  (  rable  v  in  connection  with  the  mining  of  coal, 

but  ili;  partly  unavoidable,  and  perhaps  does  not  exceed  50% 

of  the  quantity  <>f  coal  mined  throughout   the  country.     This  is  large 


(52) 


Address  by  John  Hays  Hammond 


but  it  is  less  than  the  loss  due  to  the  inefficiency  of  our  present  methods 
of  converting  this  coal  into  power. 

As  Mr  Carnegie  has  pointed  out,  not  more  than  from  5%  to  10%  of  the 
potential  energy  of  the  coal  mined  is  actually  used.  Indeed,  in  the  ordi- 
nary electric-light  plants,  hardly  one-fifth  of  one  percent  of  the  energy 
of  the  coal  is  actually  transformed  into  electric  light.  It  is  in  these  direc- 
tions that  we  must  make  special  efforts  for  improvement.  Indeed,  a  con- 
siderable progress  has  already  been  made  through  the  development  of 
gas-producers,  internal-combustion  engines,  and  steam  turbines;  and,  as 
Mr  Carnegie  says,  "We  are  not  without  hope  of  discoveries  that  may  yet 
enable  man  to  convert  potential  into  mechanical  energy  direct,  avoiding 
this  fearful  waste."  In  the  meantime,  our  policy  should  be  to  exploit 
the  water-powers  that  are  now  being  wasted,  with  the  view  of  conserving 
as  far  as  possible,  our  coal  supplies,  until  we  shall  have  attained  greater 
efficiency  in  the  utilization  of  this  coal  for  the  development  of  power. 

In  connection  with  the  exploitation  and  utilization  of  the  mineral 
resources  of  the  country,  other  than  in  coal  and  iron,  there  has  been  a 
smaller  amount  of  preventable  waste.  It  is,  of  course,  true  that  there 
are  losses  in  the  mining  and  reduction  of  the  ores  of  gold,  silver,  copper, 
lead,  etc;  but  while  our  methods  are  susceptible  of  improvement,  there 
is  no  way  of  revolutionizing  them ;  and  especially  is  this  the  case  in  many 
of  the  metallurgical  processes,  where  the  irreducible  minimum  is  not  great. 

In  common  with  every  other  national  industrv,  that  of  mining-  is 
vitally  concerned  in  the  conservation  of  our  natural  resources.  The 
present  discussions  show  conclusively  the  interdependence  of  these  indus- 
tries. For  example,  the  exploitation  of  our  mines  depends  chief! v  upon 
the  costs  of  labor,  power,  and  supplies,  and  these  costs  are  largelv  deter- 
mined by  the  economies  attending  the  development  of  our  other  natural 
resources.  Therefore,  on  the  economies  effected  in  these  industries 
depend,  reciprocally,  the  cost  of  our  mineral  products;  and,  obviously, 
the  lower  the  costs  of  mining,  the  greater  the  available  tonnage  that  can 
be  profitably  extracted.  Indeed,  in  many  of  our  low-grade  mines,  so- 
called,  the  margin  between  profit  and  loss  is  so  small  that  any  apprecia- 
ble increase  in  the  cost  of  mining  involves  pecuniary  loss,  and  the  conse- 
quent cessation  of  operations.  Furthermore,  the  mines  of  this  character 
are  -those  from  which  the  major  part  of  our  production  is  derived. 

What  has  been  said  of  the  danger  of  rapid  depletion  of  the  iron  and 
coal  deposits  is  applicable,  mutatis  mutandis,  to  the  other  mineral  depos- 
its of  the  country.  Large  deposits  of  ore  are  often  referred  to  as  inex- 
haustible. Such  hyperbole  characterizes  the  descriptions  of  the  famous 
gold  deposits  of  the  Traansval,  when,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  experts  know 
that  even  these  exceptionally  extensive  deposits  will  be  practically 
exhausted  within  two  decades — certainly  within  a  generation.     The  ever- 


(53) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


increasing  rapidity  of  exploitation  consequent  on  the  exigencies  of  mod- 
ern engineering  and  economic  practice,  inevitably  tends  to  an  alarming 
diminution  of  the  life  of  our  mineral  deposits.  The  culmination  of  our 
mining  industry  is  to  be  reckoned  by  decades,  and  its  declension,  if  not 
practically  its  economic  exhaustion,  in  generations — not  in  centuries. 

W'hik-  it  is  undoubtedly  the  fact  that  a  very  considerable  lowering  in 
the  working  costs,  or  a  correspondingly  enhanced  value  of  the  mineral 
products,  would  prolong  the  activity  of  the  mining  industry,  yet  the 
statement  I  have  made,  predicated  as  it  is  on  the  known  mineral  deposits 
onlv,  may  be  regarded  as  conservative.  New  ore  fields  will  undoubt- 
edly be  found,  as  the  result  of  future  explorations;  but  the  discovery  of 
the  more  important  deposits  will,  in  all  probability,  occur  in  the  compara- 
tively  near  future. 

Fortunately,  a  compensation  for  the  economic  effect  of  the  losses  of 
metal  attending  the  present  methods  of  mining  and  of  ore  reduction,  may 
be  found  in  the  fact  that  the  metals  saved  are  utilized  without  being,  like 
coal,  entirely  and  irrevocably  destroyed  in  use.  Gold  and  silver  mainly 
scrye  to  increase  the  stock  of  the  precious  metals  upon  which  the  mone- 
tary systems  of  the  world  are  based.  The  dissipation  of  gold  and  silver, 
beyond  recovery,  by  actual  abrasion  of  coins  would  be  much  greater  than 
it  is  but  for  the  general  employment  of  paper  currency,  bank  checks, 
etc. ,  superseding  the  actual  passage  of  coins  from  hand  to  hand.  Every 
practicable  and  safe  increase  in  that  direction  is  a  distinct  and  important 
saving  of  the  world's  resources — even  more  important  in  Great  Britain 
than  elsewhere,  by  reason  of  the  greater  softness  of  the  alloy  used  for 
British  gold  coins.  Aside  from  this  source,  the  regular  consumption  of 
gold  in  the  arts  is  probably  not  to  be  avoided  or  reduced. 

The  use  of  iron,  copper,  lead,  et  al.  is  similarly  divisible  into  two  classes, 
hich  one  leaves  for  further  use  more  or  less  scrap  metal  or  waste  from 
which  metal  can  be  recovered,  while  the  other  destroys  or  dissipates  be- 
yond recovery  the  metal  employed.  An  interesting  illustration  of  the 
latter  kind  is  furnished  by  the  destruction  of  copper,  etc,  through  the 
iring  out  of  hearings  on  railroads  and  in  machinery  generally.  This 
been  estimated  for  railroads  alone,  I  believe,  at  not  less  than  5%  of 
the  annual  product  of  copper.  It  would  be  a  most  useful  step  towards 
the  conservation  of  metallic  resources  to  ascertain  for  each  metal  the 
amount  of  its  annual  unavoidable  destruction. 


The  Presiding  Ofph  er  (Governor  Nonii):  There  has  been  a  call  for 
an  address  by  the  Governor  of  Missouri,  Governor  Folk.     The  Governor 
told  me  privately  that  Dr  Black  could  better  explain  the  conserva- 
tion of  mineral  resources  of  Missouri  than  he  could,  and  has  asked  that 

(54) 


Address  by  Secretary  Root 


he  be  called  as  his  substitute.     If  there  is  no  objection,  we  will  hear  Dr 

Black. 

Dr  Black:  Mr  President,  I  am  very  sorry  that  I  can  not  speak  with 
authority  on  the  subject  of  mines;  for  we  have  mines  in  Missouri,  and 
very  important  ones.  The  subject  that  I  am  specially  interested  in, 
however,  is  the  subject  of  water  transportation  and  forestry.  I  can 
not  help  but  notice,  in  comparing  the  two  maps  that  are  before  us,  that 
there  are  great  mines  in  Missouri  which  could  supply  a  large  part  of  our 
population,  while  Missouri  River  is  made  so  very  small  on  the  map  that 
it  would  be  almost  impossible,  until  something  is  done,  to  transport  the 
valuable  coal  and  other  minerals  that  are  on  that  line  to  the  markets  at 
proper  values. 

The  Presiding  Officer :  Who  shall  we  hear  next?     [Cries  of  "  Root," 

"Root"] 

Secretary  Root  is  called  for,  and  has  the  floor. 


Address  by  Honorable  Elihu  Root 
secretary  of  state 

Mr  President,  Governors,  Gentlemen: 

What  occurs  to  me  today,  in  response  to  your  very  kind  call  upon  me, 
is  what  comes  naturally  to  the  mind  of  the  officer  who  is  the  official 
medium  of  communication  between  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
and  the  Governments  of  the  States. 

Forty-four  sovereign  States  are  represented  here,  I  see  by  the  news- 
papers- all  sovereigns  here  on  the  invitation  of  the  Executive  of  the 
sovereign  Nation,  the  United  States.  No  one  can  over-estimate  the 
importance  of  maintaining  each  and  every  one  of  the  sovereignties  of  the 
States,  [applause]  and  no  one  can  over-estimate  the  importance  of  main- 
taining the  sovereignty  of  the  Nation. 

The  Nation  cannot  perform  the  functions  of  the  State  sovereignties. 
If  it  were  to  undertake  to  perform  those  functions  it  would  break  down. 
The  machinery  would  not  be  able  to  perform  the  duty.  The  pressure  is 
already  very  heavy  upon  national  machinery  to  do  its  present  work. 

I  feel  deeply  impressed,  however,  with  the  idea  that  the  forty-six 
sovereign  States,  in  the  performance  of  their  duties  of  government,  are 
lagging  behind  the  stage  of  development  which  the  other  sovereignties 
of  the  earth  have  reached.  As  the  population  of  our  States  increases; 
as  the  relations  between  the  People  of  each  State  and  other  States  grow 

(55) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


more  frequent,  more  complicated,  more  important,  more  intricate,  what 
every  State  does  becomes  more  important  to  the  People  of  every  other 

State.     [Applause] 

If  you  look  at  the  international  life  of  the  world,  you  will  see  that  the 
correspondence  between  the  Nations  is  continually  increasing,  not  in  the 
letter-writing  sense,  but  in  the  intercommunication  and  understanding 
about  the  things  that  they  should  do  in  concert  for  the  benefit  of  all  their 

people. 

Scores  and  hundreds  of  conferences  and  congresses  are  being  held  under 
Government  auspices  to  regulate  the  action  of  the  different  Nations  of 
the  earth.  England  and  France  and  Germany  and  Spain,  indeed  all  the 
Nations  of  Europe,  are  considering  the  conduct  of  their  Governments 
with  reference  to  the  effect  which  their  action  will  have  upon  the  People 
of  each  other  country. 

Now  the  States,  in  the  exercise  of  their  sovereignty,  in  the  exercise 
of  the  powers  reserved  to  them,  rest  under  the  same  kind  of  duty, 
[Applause]  a  duty  that  forbids  any  State  to  live  unto  itself  alone. 
[Applause] 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  prohibits  the  States  from 
making  any  agreement  with  each  other  without  the  consent  of  Congress; 
but  you  can  make  any  number  of  agreements  with  the  consent  of  Congress. 
Why  should  not  the  powers  that  are  reserved  to  the  State  sovereignties 
be  exercised  by  those  sovereignties,  with  a  wise  regard  for  the  common 
interest,  upon  conference,  upon  complete  understanding  of  the  duties  of 
good  neighborhood,  under  a  firm  resolve  to  make  it  wholly  unnecessary 
that  this  continual  pressure  to  force  the  National  Government  into  the 
performance  of  the  duties  that  the  States  ought  to  perform  should 
continue?     [Applause] 

It  is  high  time  that  the  sovereign  States  of  the  Union  should  begin  to 
perform  their  duties  with  reference  not  only  to  their  own  local  individual 
interests,  but  with  reference  to  the  common  good.     [Applause] 

I  regard  this  meeting  as  marking  a  new  departure,  the  beginning  of  an 
in  which  the  States  of  the  Union  will  exercise  their  reserved  sovereign 
powers  upon  a  higher  plane  of  patriotism  and  love  of  country  than  has 
before.     [Great  applause] 


[Cries of  "Cortelyou,"  "Cortelyou"] 

The   Presiding  Officer    (Governor   Noei*):  Secretary  Cortelyou  is 

lied  for,  and  ba    the  floor. 


<s<>) 


Address  by  Secretary  Cortelyou 


Address  by  Honorable  George  B.  Cortelyou 

SECRETARY  OF  THE  TREASURY 

Mr  President  and  Gentlemen: 

It  is  a  distinguished  honor  to  be  asked  to  speak  for  even  a  few  moments 
before  such  a  gathering  as  this,  and  to  speak  from  the  same  platform  as 
Elihu  Root.     [Applause] 

At  first  I  wondered  at  just  what  point  the  Treasury  Department 
touched  this  question  of  the  conservation  of  our  natural  resources,  but 
as  I  have  listened  to  your  discussions  during  the  day  I  realized  that  we 
touch  it  very  intimately  at  many  points.  I  was  particularly  struck  by 
some  of  the  remarks  made  by  two  or  three  speakers  this  afternoon,  and 
especially  by  the  remarks  of  Mr  Hammond  as  to  our  gold  and  silver 
production,  or  rather  the  gold  and  silver  production  of  the  world. 

I  merely  mention  that  as  one  indication  of  the  fact  that  at  the  begin- 
ning of  such  conference  as  this  there  may  be  many  who  will  be  in  doubt 
as  to  just  what  their  relation  may  be  to  the  Conference;  but  as  it  develops 
I  think  we  shall  realize  that  not  alone  every  Department  of  the  National 
Government  but  every  State  and  every  Citizen  is  deeply  concerned  with 
the  vital  question  that  is  the  subject  of  your  meeting  here.  [Applause] 
There  is  one  other  reflection  that  comes  to  me,  and  to  which  I  have 
taken  occasion  frequently  to  refer  at  meetings,  international  gatherings, 
and  important  conventions — and  that  is  that  not  alone  the  great  ques- 
tions that  may  be  discussed  are  important,  but  that  in  the  bringing 
together  of  men  from  different  sections  of  the  country,  and  in  this 
instance  the  Governors  of  our  States,  where  they  touch  elbows,  inter- 
change views,  and  come  to  understand  better  the  needs  of  these  different 
sections,  we  achieve  a  result  oftentimes  as  great  as,  sometimes  even 
greater  than,  the  result  of  the  discussions  of  the  important  questions 
more  immediately  involved  in  the  Conference. 

To  presume  for  just  one  further  moment,  and  as  supplementing  what 
the  Secretary  of  State  has  said,  let  me  say  that  in  such  a  meeting  as  this 
we  are  bound  to  think,  if  we  do  not  at  all  times  give  expression  to  the 
thought,  of  the  relations  of  the  National  Government  and  the  Govern- 
ments of  the  States;  but  this  question  will  disturb  us  much  or  little  just 
in  proportion  as  each  State  shall  realize  and  live  up  to  its  responsibilities 
as  an  indestructible  part  of  an  indestructible  Nation.     [Applause] 


[Repeated  calls  for  "Ransdell"] 

The  Presiding  Officer  (Governor  Noel):  Representative  Ransdell 
of  Louisiana  is  called  for. 

Mr  Ransdell:  Mr  President,  I  have  no  knowledge  at  all  of  the  sub- 
ject under  discussion  this  afternoon. 

(57) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


The  Presiding  Officer  :  You  are  a  water  man. 

Mr  RansdBLL:  Yes;  and  I  would  much  prefer  to  say  something  later 
on.  I  notice  that  the  subject  of  waterways  comes  up  later  on  during  the 
discussion,  and  at  that  time  I  shall  have  a  few  words  to  say. 

Mr  Bryan:  Mr  President,  I  would  suggest  that,  according  to  the  map, 
Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  West  Yirginia,  and  Illinois  are  largely  interested  in 
the  coal  mines;  I  think  it  would  be  well,  before  we  adjourn,  to  hear  from 
the  Governors  of  these  States,  and  I  would  commence  with  Governor 
Dawson  of  West  Yirginia. 

The  Presiding  Officer:  Will  Governor  Dawson  take  the  platform? 

Address  by  W.  M.  O.  Dawson 

GOVERNOR    OF    WEST    VIRGINIA 

Mr  President  and  Fellow  Governors: 

We  think  that  West  Yirginia  is  a  pretty  rich  State  in  natural  resources. 
If  vou  took  a  vote  out  in  West  Virginia,  they  would  vote  that  she  is  the 
richest  State  in  the  Union,  and  therefore  we  are  very  greatly  concerned 
in  this  whole  question  of  the  conservation  of  these  resources.  We  are 
especially  rich  in  coal,  natural  gas — I  mean  the  kind  that  comes  from 
the  ground  [laughter] — and  oil. 

You  have  heard  something  about  the  waste  of  these  mineral  resources. 
You  have  had  the  great  benefit,  allow  me  to  say,  to  listen  to  the  very 
able  paper  of  Dr  White,  the  State  Geologist  of  West  Virginia,  whose 
reputation  upon  these  subjects  is  not  only  national  but  international. 

As  the  great  Secretary  of  State  has  said  to  you,  we  are  all  one  family, 
and  no  Stale  liveth  unto  itself.  If  you  are  wasting  things  in  Missouri, 
you  are  wasting  part  of  the  common  heritage  of  this  whole  country, 
and  we  people  who  live  in  West  Virginia,  as  a  part  of  this  common 
country,  are  therefore  interested  that  you  stop  that  waste.  [Applause] 
And  if  we  are  doing  those  things  in  West  Virginia,  all  of  you  in  all  of  the 
State-  are  interested  that  we  should  stop  doing  those  bad  things;  and,  as 
I  understand,  we  are  here  to  learn  how  to  stop  doing  them. 

We  have  heard  a  great   deal  about  the  waste  of  our  resources,  and 

about  how  soon  our  coal  and  oil  and  gas  will  be  exhausted;  and  although 

this  i  warm  day  I  begin  to  shiver  a  little  myself  in  anticipation  of 

that  prolonged  cold  spell  which  is  going  to  strike  us  about  a  hundred 

■    i  r< mi  now.     |  Laughter] 

Now,  while-  I  (Id  not  undertake,  Gentlemen,  to  say  that  we  have  heard 

enOUgfa   about    the   waste,    I    want    to   respectfully   suggest    Mr   President, 
with   your  permission,   that    it   is  about    time   we  should  hear  something 

about  bow  to  stop  it ,  how  to  apply  tin-  remedy. 

(5«J 


Address  by  Governor  Dawson 


I  brought  with  me,  according  to  the  invitation  of  the  President,  three 
gentlemen  to  assist  me.  What  a  wise  President  we  have,  and  how  nice 
he  was  about  that !  He  knew  that  some  of  us  did  not  know  much  about 
this  subject— I  do  not  anyhow— and  he  gave  us  the  privilege  of  bringing 
somebody  here  with  us  who  did  know.  I  am  glad  he  did.  And  I  have 
a  gentleman  with  me,  who  knows  a  great  deal  about  this,  and  I  would 
like  to  have  him  address  the  conference. 

Mr  Osborn  (of  Michigan) :  Mr  President 

The  Presiding  Officer:   For  what  purpose  does  the  gentleman  rise? 

Mr  Osborn:  I  thought  the  Speaker  was  through.  I  simply  want  to 
make  a  suggestion. 

The  Presiding  Officer:  I  do  not  know  that  he  is  through  yet.  Are 
you  through,  Governor? 

Governor  Dawson:  No,  sir;   I  am  not  through  yet. 

Mr  Osborn:  There  is  in  our  midst  a  very  distinguished  man,  whose 
name  you  will  be  proud  to  hear. 

Governor  Dawson:  I  was  going  to  mention  a  distinguished  man 
myself.  [Laughter]  I  find  this  country  is  full  of  distinguished  men. 
Dr  White  was  stolen  from  me,  but  I  brought  with  me  another  gentleman, 
the  Chief  Mine  Inspector  of  West  Virginia.  There  is  nobody  in  this 
country  who  knows  any  more  about  coal  and  how  best  to  mine  it  than 
Mr  Paul.  I  would  like  to  have  you  hear  from  Mr  Paul,  in  my  place,  on 
how  to  conserve  the  waste  in  coal. 


The  Presiding  Officer:   We  will  hear  from  some  of  the  Governors. 

Mr  Osborn:  Mr  President,  I  do  not  understand,  or  claim  to  under- 
stand, the  standing  of  a  delegate  here  who  is  not  a  Governor;  but  I  want 
to  mention  the  name  of  a  man  I  love,  and  you  love,  and  every  man  here 
loves,  one  who  has  taught  Governors,  whom  Governors  are  glad  to 
honor,  who  taught  John  Hay,  who  taught  Richard  Olnev,  who  is  the 
President  of  Michigan  University,  and  who  is  approaching  80  years  of 
age— Dr  Angell.     He  classes  with  the  best  of  all,  the  flower  of  the  nation. 

The  Presiding  Officer  :  Dr  Angell  is  called  for. 

Address  by  Dr  J.  B.  Angell 

PRESIDENT    UNIVERSITY    OF    MICHIGAX 

If  there  is  any  occasion  in  connection  with  which  I  am  not  permitted 
to  offer  anything  of  service  I  think  this  may  be  the  one.  I  can  do  little 
more  than  express  my  great  pleasure  in  meeting  so  raanv  of  our  dis- 
tinguished citizens  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  to  express  my 
extreme  gratification  that  the  time  has  come  when  the  various  States  of 

(59) 
56254—09 7 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

the  Union,  in  accordance  with  the  suggestion  of  the  Secretary  of  State, 
are  prepared  in  such  harmonious  spirit  to  take  up  any  great  object  of 
common  interest,  and  to  come  here  to  discuss  it  with  sincere  desire, 
not  alone  to  increase  the  prosperity  of  each  of  the  States,  but  to  increase 
the  prosperity  of  the  whole  Nation  in  a  spirit  of  common  regard  for  the 
interest  of  all.     [Applause] 

I  think  we  may  say  that  in  the  whole  history  of  our  country,  so  far  as 
I  can  recall,  there  has  never  been  an  assemblage,  since  the  one  that  was 
first  gathered  to  frame  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  where  so 
great  interests  were  apparently  considered  with  such  a  lofty  patriotic 
spirit  as  seems  to  be  manifested  here  today.  I  am  sure  that  this  will 
stand  upon  record  as  a  great  historic  event,  and  that  you,  and  your 
children,  will  all  be  proud  that  you  have  been  able  to  participate  in  it. 

I  beg  to  thank  you  for  the  opportunity  of  looking  you  in  the  face. 


Governor  Hoch:  Mr  President,  I  think  this  is  about  as  good  a  time 
as  any  to  settle  one  proposition.  The  President  has  invited  the  Gov- 
ernors of  the  various  States  to  this  Conference,  and  has  invited  those 
Governors  to  invite  three  representative  citizens  for  their  respective 
States. 

Speaking  for  myself — and  I  believe  voicing  the  sentiment  of  all  the 
Governors  who  hear  me — so  far  as  I  am  concerned  I  wish  to  be  placed 
on  an  absolute  equality  with  all  the  representatives  of  all  the  States 
with  whom  we  have  come  here  to  consider  these  matters;  that  the  Gov- 
ernors shall  have  no  preference  in  the  matter  of  discussion;  that  these 
representative  citizens  who  have  accompanied  us  shall  be  on  an  absolute 
equality  during  these  three  days  of  discussion,  and  that  they  shall  be 
heard  quite  as  freely  as  we  shall  be  heard.  Governors,  does  that  meet 
with  your  approval? 

The  Presiding  (  )fficer  (Governor  Noel):  The  associates  of  the  Gov- 
ernors are-  not  the  only  ones  who  are  here.     There  are  the  Cabinet,  the 
Supreme  Court,  and  the  Senators  and  Representatives;  but  the  privi- 
.  the  floor  is  a  matter  to  be  regulated  by  the  Committee. 

Governor  Blanch ard:  Mr  President,  I  must  differ  from  the  Chair  in 
that  respect. 

Tin   Presiding  Officer:  What  is  it,  Governor? 

rnor  Blanchard:   It  is  that  without  regard  to  the  Committee  on 
olutioi  d  l<      •     to  this  convention,  whether  he  be  a  Gov- 

ernor or  nol .  if  he  be  here  on  the  invitation  of  the  President ,  is  entitled 
to  take  part  in  these  discussions  with  the  same  privileges  thai  the  Gov- 
ernors nave.     I  fully  agree  with  my  friend  from  Kansas  in  what  he  has 

(60) 


Informal  Discussion  of  Program 


said,  and  it  does  not  need  the  intervention  of  the  Committee  on  Reso- 
lutions to  give  any  delegate  the  right  of  recognition  by  the  Chair 

Governor  Dawson:  Mr  President,  I  think  this  question  ought  to  be 
settled.  I  brought  three  gentlemen  with  me  who  have  the  same  invi- 
tation that  I  have.  I  understand  that  they  can  not  speak  as  long  as 
some  Governor  wants  to  talk.     [Laughter] 

Governor  Beanchard:  That  is  not  correct.  They  may  speak 
Governor  Dawson:  That  may  be  true,  but  I  will  answer  you  with  the 
case  of  the  fellow  who  was  in  jail.  When  his  lawyer  told  him  they  could 
not  put  him  there,  he  said:  "Yes;  but  I  am  already  here  "  I  called 
upon  a  gentleman  to  speak  in  answer  to  a  call  that  was  made  upon  me 
and  I  was  told  that  he  could  not  speak  because  there  was  some  Governor 
wanted  to  speak. 

The  Presiding  Officer:  It  was  because  West  Virginia  had  already 
been  heard  from  twice. 

Governor  Swanson:  Mr  President,  let  me  suggest  this:  The  President 
has  fixed  a  program  for  us;  he  is  chairman  of  this  meeting  excepting 
when  a  deputy  is  acting  for  him.     The  power  of  recognition  is  with  him 
or  his  deputy,  after  the  completion  of  the  program  that  the  President 
has  prepared  for  us.     He  has  recommended  to  this  Conference  of  Gov- 
ernors that  they  take  charge  of  the  meeting  and  determine  what  the 
action  shall  be.     It  seems  that  in  courtesy  to  the  President,  in  courtesy 
to  his  deputy,  the  proper  course  for  us  to  pursue  is  to  carry  out  his  pro- 
gram; and   after  that  program  is  completed   it   is  for  us    his  invited 
guests,  delegates  and  all,  to  determine  whether  this  shall  be  a  permanent 
body  and  what  its  resolutions  shall  be;  but  at  this  time  it  seems  to  me 
entirely  out  of  place    to    arrange  a    program   to    determine    who    the 
President  shall  recognize  tomorrow.     So  I  believe  in  adhering  to  the 
program  in  which  we  were  invited  by  the  President  to  participate 

The  Presiding  Officer:  The  Governors,  newspaper  men,  and  all  the 
rest  look  alike  to  me.  They  are  all  mixed.  The  President  when  he  is 
here  is  in  just  the  same  position  as  one  of  us.  I  wanted  to  solve  the  diffi- 
culties that  are  up  to  the  President  when  he  is  here,  and  up  to  his  deputy 
when  he  is  absent.  The  Governors  have  no  badges;  and  there  is  no 
distinguishing  mark  on  a  Governor's  associate— we  do  not  know  him 
from  anybody  else.  If  all  who  are  here  are  to  have  the  same  privileges 
let  the  Committee  so  determine,  and  let  the  Committee  so  report 

Governor  Beanchard:  On  behalf  of  the  Committee  on  Resolutions  I 
offer  this  motion : 

I  move  that  those  gentlemen  indicated  in  the  President's  letters  to 
the  Governors,  to  be  invited  here  by  each  Governor  as  his  assistants 
three  in  number,  have  the  same  privileges  of  recognition  on  the  floor  to 
discuss  all   questions  arising  at  this  Conference  as  the  Governors  and 
others  invited  directly  by  the  President  have. 

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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

The  Presiding  Officer:  Shall  we  add  a  little  further  to  it?  Ought 
we  not  to  include  Senators  who  are  here,  because  they  were  invited; 
and  Representatives,  and  members  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  members 
of  the  Cabinet  who  are  here? 

Mr  Osborx:  They  were  invited  directly  by  the  President. 

The  Presiding  Officer:  The  motion  embraces  all  those? 

Governor  Blanchard:  My  motion  includes  every  one  invited  to  this 
Conference  by  the  President.  I  move  therefore  that  every  gentleman 
invited  to  this  Conference  by  the  President,  or  invited  to  this  Conference 
by  a  Governor  through  the  suggestion  of  the  President,  be  accorded  equal 
privileges  on  this  floor. 

Governor  Hoch:  I  second  the  motion. 

The  question  was  taken  on  agreeing  to  the  motion  of  Governor 
Blanchard,  and  it  was  agreed  to  without  dissenting  voice. 

Governor  Hanly:  Mr  President,  I  move  the  Conference  do  now 
adjourn. 

The  motion  was  seconded  by  several  voices,  and  was  put  and  agreed 
to;  and  the  Conference  accordingly,  at  5:05  oclock,  p.  m.,  was  declared 
adjourned  until  Thursday,  May  14,  at  10  oclock,  a.  m. 


(62) 


Third  Session 

The  Third  Session  of  the  Conference  was  called  to  order  in  the  East 
Room  of  the  White  House  at  10  oclock  a.  m.,  on  Thursday,  May  14, 
1908,  by  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

The  President:  I  will  ask  Governor  Johnson  to  occupy  the  platform 
with  me  until  the  time  comes  when  I  shall  have  to  leave,  when  he  will 
preside.  I  will  ask  that  Governor  Deneen  preside  this  afternoon,  after 
the  session  has  been  opened. 

Mr  Hill  is  to  open  the  Conference  this  morning  with  an  address  on 
"The  Natural  Wealth  of  the  Land  and  Its  Conservation."     [Applause] 


THE    NATURAL    WEALTH    OF    THE   LAND   AND    ITS 

CONSERVATION 

James  J.  Hill 


Mr  President  and  Gentlemen: 

In  some  respects  the  occasion  that  calls  together  this  assemblage  is 
unprecedented.  The  dignity  and  public  influence  of  those  present  mark 
its  importance.  It  is  in  effect  a  directors'  meeting  of  the  great  political 
and  economic  corporation  known  as  the  United  States  of  America. 
The  stockholders  are  the  87,000,000  People  of  this  country;  the  directors 
are  the  State  and  Federal  officers,  whose  position  brings  them  in  touch 
with  the  operation  of  the  whole  country.  We  should  not  fail  to  recog- 
nize the  high  note  that  has  been  struck  and  the  immensity  of  the  interests 
involved  upon  the  lives  of  millions  yet  to  be. 

The  two-fold  significance  of  this  meeting  is  found  in  the  comparative 
novelty  of  its  subject  matter  and  of  the  method  by  which  it  has  been 
approached.  The  subject  is  the  conservation  of  our  national  wealth, 
and  a  careful  study  of  our  national  economic  resources. 

Two  years  ago,  in  an  address  delivered  before  the  meeting  of  the 
Minnesota  State  Agricultural  Society  in  St.  Paul,  I  reviewed  the  practical 
consequences  and  the  statistical  proof  of  that  national  wastefulness 
which  competent  scientific  authority  had  already  set  down  as  distin- 
guishing the  American  people.     From  data  of  the  highest  certainly,  no 

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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


one  of  which  has  ever  since  been  called  in  question,  I  then  forecast  some 
of  the  conditions  certain  to  arise  within  the  next  half-century,  when  the 
population  of  this  country  will  have  grown  to  more  than  200,000,000. 
The  facts  were  pointed  out  not  in  the  spirit  of  the  alarmist,  but  in  order 
that  attention  might  be  directed  to  the  way  by  which  the  nation  may 
escape  future  disaster.  So  rapidly  do  events  move  in  our  time,  so  swiftly 
do  ideas  spread  and  grasp  the  public  mind,  that  some  policy  directed  to 
the  ends  then  set  forth  has  already  become  a  national  care.  It  is  this 
policy — the  conservation  of  national  resources,  the  best  means  of  putting 
an  end  to  the  waste  of  the  sources  of  wealth— which  largely  forms  the  sub- 
ject-matter of  this  Conference.  For  the  first  time  there  is  aformal  national 
protest,  under  seal  of  the  highest  authority,  against  economic  waste. 

The  method  by  which  this  end  is  to  be  reached  is  scarcely  less  inter- 
esting or  significent.  This  body  has  no  legal  status,  and  its  conclusions 
will  not  be  of  binding  effect  upon  the  Nation,  the  State  or  the  citizen. 
Yet  they  will  carry  a  weight  greater  than  legislatures  can  impart,  a  force 
that  even  courts  could  not  strengthen,  because  they  will  not  be  subject 
to  repeal.  [Laughter]  They  will  represent  a  truly  national  opinion 
expressed  with  fidelity  to  our  national  constitutional  form.  The  People 
of  the  United  States  are  represented  here  through  the  several  States. 
May  we  not  hope  that  from  this  gathering  there  may  be  born  not  only 
a  wiser  system  of  using  the  still  remaining  resources  of  this  country,  but 
a  cooperation  between  Nation  and  State  that  shall  be  as  helpful  in  our 
political  as  these  deliberations  ought  to  be  in  our  economic  future? 

"Of  all  the  sinful  wasters  of  man's  inheritance  on  earth,"  said  the  late 
Professor  Shaler,  "and  all  are  in  this  regard  sinners,  the  very  worst  are 
the  people  of  America."  This  is  not  a  popular  phrase,  but  a  scientific 
judgment.  It  is  borne  out  by  facts.  In  the  movement  of  modern  times, 
which  has  made  the  world  commercially  a  small  place  and  has  produced 
a  solidarity  of  the  race  such  as  never  before  existed,  we  have  come  to 
the  point  where  we  must  to  a  certain  extent  regard  the  natural  resources 
of  this  planet  as  a  common  asset,  compare  them  with  demands  now 
made  and  likely  to  be  made  upon  them,  and  study  their  judicious  use. 
Commerce,  wherever  untrammeled,  is  wiping  out  boundaries  and  sub- 
stituting the  world-relation  of  demand  and  supply  for  smaller  systems 
of  local  economy.  The  changes  of  a  single  generation  have  brought  the 
Nations  of  the  Earth  closer  together  than  were  the  States  of  this  Union  at 
the  close  of  the  Civil  War.  If  we  fail  to  consider  what  we  possess  of 
wealth  available  for  the  uses  of  mankind,  and  to  what  extent  we  are  wasting 
a  national  patrimony  thai  can  never  be  restored,  we  might  be  likened  to 
the  directors  of  a  company  who  never  examine  a  balance  sheet. 

The  sum  of  resources  is  simple  and  fixed.     From  the  sea,  the  mine, 
the  forest  and  the  soil  must  be  gathered  everything  that  can  sustain  the 

(64) 


Address  by  James  J.  Hill 


life  of  man.  Upon  the  wealth  that  these  supply  must  be  conditioned 
forever,  as  far  as  we  can  see,  not  only  his  progress  but  his  continued 
existence  on  earth.  How  stands  the  inventory  of  property  for  our  own 
people?  The  resources  of  the  sea  furnish  less  than  5%  of  the  food  sup- 
ply, and  that  is  all.  The  forests  of  this  country,  the  product  of  centu- 
ries of  growth,  are  fast  disappearing.  The  best  estimates  reckon  our 
standing  merchantable  timber  at  less  than  2,000,000,000,000  feet.  Our 
annual  cut  is  about  40,000,000,000  feet.  The  lumber  cut  rose  from 
18,000,000,000  feet  in  1880  to  34,000,000,000  feet  in  1905;  that  is,  it 
nearly  doubled  in  25  years.  We  are  now  using  annually  500  feet  board 
measure  of  timber  per  capita,  as  against  an  average  of  60  feet  for  all 
Europe.  The  New  England  supply  is  gone.  The  Northwest  furnishes 
small  growths  that  would  have  been  rejected  by  the  lumberman  30 
years  ago.  The  South  has  reached  its  maximum  production  and  begins 
to  decline.  On  the  Pacific  Coast  only  is  there  now  any  considerable 
body  of  merchantable  standing  timber.  We  are  consuming  yearly  three 
or  four  times  as  much  timber  as  forest  growth  restores.  Our  supply  of 
some  varieties  will  be  practically  exhausted  in  10  or  12  years;  in  the 
case  of  others,  without  reforesting,  the  present  century  will  see  the  end. 
When  will  we  take  up  in  a  practical  and  intelligent  way  the  restoration 
of  our  forests? 

Turning  now  to  one  of  the  only  two  remaining  sources  of  wealth,  the 
mine,  we  find  it  different  from  the  others  in  an  important  essential.  It 
is  incapable  of  restoration  or  recuperation.  The  mineral  wealth  stored 
in  the  earth  can  be  used  only  once.  When  iron  and  coal  are  taken  from 
the  mine,  they  cannot  be  restored;  and  upon  iron  and  coal  our  industrial 
civilization  is  built.  When  fuel  and  iron  become  scarce  and  high-priced, 
civilization,  so  far  as  we  can  now  foresee,  will  suffer  as  man  would  suffer 
by  the  gradual  withdrawal  of  the  air  he  breathes. 

The  exhaustion  of  our  coal  supply  is  not  in  the  indefinite  future.  The 
startling  feature  of  our  coal  production  is  not  so  much  the  magnitude  of 
the  annual  output  as  its  rate  of  growth.  For  the  decade  ending  in  1905 
the  total  product  was  2,832,402,746  tons,  which  is  almost  exactly  one- 
half  the  total  product  previously  mined  in  this  country.  For  the  year 
1906  the  output  was  414,000,000  tons,  an  increase  of  46%  on  the  aver- 
age annual  yield  of  the  10  years  preceding.  In  1907  our  production 
reached  470,000,000  tons.  Fifty  years  ago  the  annual  per  capita  produc- 
tion was  a  little  more  than  one-quarter  of  a  ton;  it  is  now  about  five  tons. 
It  is  but  eight  years  since  we  took  the  place  of  Great  Britain  as  the  lead- 
ing coal  producing  nation  of  the  world,  and  already  our  product  exceeds 
hers  by  over  43%,  and  is  37%  of  the  known  production  of  the  world. 
Estimates  of  coal  deposits  still  remaining  must  necessarily  be  somewhat 
vague,  but  they  are  approximately  near  the  mark. 


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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

o 

The  iron  industry  tells  a  similar  story.  The  total  of  iron  ore  mined 
in  the  United  States  doubles  about  once  in  seven  years.  It  was  less  than 
12,000,000  tons  in  1893,  over  24,000,000  tons  in  1899,  47,740,000  tons  in 
1906  and  over  52,000,000  tons  in  1907.  The  rising  place  of  iron  in  the 
world's  life  is  the  most  impressive  phenomenon  of  the  last  century.  In 
1850  the  pig  iron  production  of  the  United  States  amounted  to  563,757 
tons,  or  about  50  pounds  per  capita.  Our  production  now  is  over  600 
pounds  per  capita.  We  do  not  work  a  mine,  build  a  house,  weave  a 
fabric,  prepare  a  meal  or  cultivate  an  acre  of  ground  under  modern 
methods  without  the  aid  of  iron.  We  turn  out  over  25,000,000  tons  of 
pig  iron  every  year,  and  the  production  for  the  first  half  of  1907  was  at 
the  rate  of  27,000,000  tons.  This  is  two  and  one-half  times  the  product 
of  Great  Britain.  It  is  nearly  half  the  product  of  the  whole  world.  And 
the  supply  of  this  most  precious  of  all  the  metals  is  so  far  from  inexhausti- 
ble that  it  seems  as  if  iron  and  coal  might  be  united  in  their  disappearance 
from  common  life. 

The  large  deposits  of  iron  ore  in  this  country  are  now  located.  For 
cheap  iron  we  depend  on  the  Lake  Superior  district,  because  of  its  high 
grade,  the  ease  of  extracting  the  ore  from  the  mines,  and  its  nearness  to 
cheap  transportation.  At  the  rate  of  over  50,000,000  tons  per  year,  our 
present  consumption,  it  would  require  over  2,000,000,000  tons  to  supply 
the  demand  for  the  next  40  years,  supposing  it  to  remain  stationary. 
This  would  approach  the  end  of  all  the  higher  grade  ore  in  large  deposits 
now  in  sight  in  this  country.  The  product  of  other  workings  would  be 
of  inferior  quality  and  higher  cost,  and  remote  from  market.  But  pro- 
duction is  certain  to  increase  even  more  rapidly  than  in  the  past.  A  few 
is  ago  a  Swedish  geologist  prepared  for  his  government  a  report  which 
stated  that  the  entire  supply  of  the  iron  ore  in  the  United  States  would 
1  ichausted  within  the  present  century.  The  United  States  Geological 
Survey  declared  this  an  over-estimate;  but  here  is  the  conclusion  of  its 
own  report,  after  a  careful  examination  of  the  question  in  the  light  of  the 
•  authorities.      I  quote  the  official  published  document: 

Assuming  that  the  demand  for  iron  ore  during  the  present  century  may  range  from 
50,000,000  to  100,000,000  tons  per  year,  the  Lake  Superior  district  would  last  for  from 
25  to  50  years,  if  it  supplied  the  entire  United  States.  But  counting  on  the  known 
Supply  elsewhere  in  the  United  States,  the  ore  will  last  for  a  much  longer  period, 
thou  OUTSe,  it  must  necessarily  show  a  gradual  but  steady  increase  in  value  and 

in  cost  of  mining,  along  with  an  equally  steady  decrease  in  i;rade. 

Tlu-  most  favorable  view  of  the  situation  forces  the  conclusion  that 
iron  and  coal  will  not  Ik-  available  for  common  use  on  an)  thing  like  present 
terms  before  th(  end  of  this  centurj  ;  and  our  industrial,  social  and  political 
life  must  be  readjusted  to  meet  tin-  strains  imposed  by  new  conditions, 
yet  wi  forbid  to  our  consumers  access  to  the  stores  of  other  countries, 

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Address  by  James  J.  Hill 


while  we  boast  of  our  increased  exports,  of  that  material  for  want  of  which 
one  day  the  nation  must  be  reduced  to  the  last  extremity.     [Applause] 

We  now  turn  to  the  only  remaining  resource  of  man  upon  this  earth, 
which  is  the  soil  itself.  How  are  we  caring  for  that,  and  what  possibilities 
does  it  hold  out  to  the  People  of  future  support?  We  are  only  beginning 
to  feel  the  pressure  upon  the  land.  The  whole  interior  of  this  continent, 
aggregating  more  than  500,000,000  acres,  has  been  occupied  by  settlers 
within  the  last  50  years.  What  is  there  left  for  the  next  50  years?  Ex- 
cluding arid  and  irrigable  areas,  the  latter  limited  by  nature,  and  barely 
enough  of  which  could  be  made  habitable  in  each  year  to  furnish  a  farm 
for  each  immigrant  family,  the  case  stands  as  follows:  In  1906  the  total 
unappropriated  public  lands  in  the  United  States  consisted  of  792,000,000 
acres.  Of  this  area  the  divisions  of  Alaska,  Arizona,  California,  Colorado, 
Idaho,  Montana,  Nevada,  New  Mexico  and  Wyoming  contained  195,- 
700,000  acres  of  surveyed  and  509,000,000  acres  of  unsurveyed  land. 
Little  of  Alaska  is  fitted  for  general  agriculture,  while  practically  all  of 
the  rest  is  semi-arid  land,  available  only  for  grazing  or  irrigation.  We 
have,  subtracting  these  totals,  50,000,000  acres  of  surveyed  and  36,500,000 
acres  of  unsurveyed  land  as  our  actual  remaining  stock.  And  2 1 ,000,000 
acres  were  disposed  of  in  1907.  How  long  will  the  remainder  last?  No 
longer  can  we  say  that  "Uncle  Sam  has  land  enough  to  give  us  all  a 
farm." 

Equally  threatening  is  the  change  in  quality.  There  are  two  ways  in 
which  the  productive  power  of  the  earth  is  lessened;  first  by  erosion  and 
the  sweeping  away  of  the  fertile  surface  into  streams  and  thence  to  the 
sea,  and  second  by  exhaustion  through  wrong  methods  of  cultivation. 
The  former  process  has  gone  far.  Thousands  of  acres  in  the  East  and 
South  have  been  made  unfit  for  tillage.  North  Carolina  was,  a  century 
ago,  one  of  the  greatest  agricultural  states  of  the  country  and  one  of  the 
wealthiest.  Today  as  you  ride  through  the  South  you  see  everywhere 
land  gullied  by  torrential  rains;  red  and  yellow  clay  banks  exposed  where 
once  were  fertile  fields;  and  agriculture  reduced  because  its  main  support 
has  been  washed  away.  Millions  of  acres,  in  places  to  the  extent  of 
one-tenth  of  the  entire  arable  area,  have  been  so  injured  that  no  industry 
and  no  care  can  restore  them.     [Applause] 

Far  more  ruinous,  because  universal  and  continuing  in  its  effects,  is 
the  process  of  soil  exhaustion.  It  is  creeping  over  the  land  from  East  to 
West.  The  abandoned  farms  that  are  now  the  playthings  of  the  city's 
rich  or  the  game  preserves  of  patrons  of  sport,  bear  witness  to  the 
melancholy  change.  New  Hampshire,  Vermont,  Northern  New  York, 
show  long  lists  of  them.  In  Western  Massachusetts,  which  once  sup- 
ported a  flourishing  agriculture,  farm  properties  are  now  for  sale  for  half 
the   cost   of    the   improvements.     Professor   Carver,    of    Harvard,    has 

(67) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

declared  after  a  personal  examination  of  the  country  that  "Agriculture 
as  an  independent  industry,  able  in  itself  to  support  a  community,  does 
not  exist  in  the  hilly  parts  of  New  England." 

The  same  process  of  deterioration  is  affecting  the  farm  lands  of  Western 
New  York,  Ohio  and  Indiana.  Where  prices  of  farms  should  rise  by 
increase  of  population,  in  many  places  they  are  falling.  Between  1880 
and  1900  the  land  values  of  Ohio  shrank  $60,000,000.  Official  investi- 
gation of  two  counties  in  Central  New  York  disclosed  a  condition  of 
agricultural  decay.  In  one,  land  was  for  sale  for  about  the  cost  of 
improvements,  and  150  vacant  houses  were  counted  in  a  limited  area; 
in  the  other,  the  population  in  1905  was  nearly  4,000  less  than  it  was  in 

iS55- 

Practically  identical  soil  conditions  exist  in  Maryland  and  Yirginia, 

where  lands  sell  at  from  Sio  to  $30  an  acre.  In  a  hearing  before  an 
Industrial  Commission,  the  chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Soils  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  said :  "One  of  the  most  important  causes  of  deteriora- 
tion, and  I  think  I  should  put  this  first  of  all,  is  the  method  and  system 
of  agriculture  that  prevails  throughout  these  states.  Unquestionably 
the  soil  has  been  abused."  The  richest  region  of  the  West  is  no  more 
exempt  than  New  England  or  the  South.  The  soil  of  the  West  is  being 
reduced  in  agricultural  potency  by  exactly  the  same  processes  which 
have  driven  the  farmer  of  the  East,  with  all  his  advantage  of  nearness  to 
markets,  practically  from  the  field. 

Within  the  last  40  years  a  great  part  of  the  richest  land  in  the  country 
has  been  brought  under  cultivation.  We  should,  therefore,  in  the  same 
time,  have  raised  proportionately  the  yield  of  our  principal  crops  per 
acre;  because  the  yield  of  old  lands,  if  properly  treated,  tends  to  increase 
rather  than  to  diminish.  The  year  1906  was  one  of  large  crops  and  can 
scarcely  be  taken  as  a  standard.  We  produced,  for  example,  more  corn 
that  year  than  had  ever  been  grown  in  the  United  States  in  a  single  year 
before.  But  the  average  yield  per  acre  was  less  than  it  was  in  1872. 
We  are  barely  keeping  the  acre-product  stationary.  The  average  wheat 
crop  of  the  country  now  ranges  from  12  \  bushels  in  ordinary  years  to  15 
bushels  per  acre  in  the  best  seasons.     And  so  it  is  on  down  the  line. 

But  the  fact  of  soil  waste  becomes  startlingly  evident  when  we  examine 
the  record  of  some  states  where  single  cropping  and  other  agricultural 
abuses  have  been  prevalent.  Take  the  case  of  wheat,  the  mainstay  of 
single-crop  abuse.  Many  of  us  can  remember  when  New  York  was  the 
gnat  wheat  producing  state  of  the  Union.  The  average  yield  of  wheat 
per  acre  in  New  York  for  the  last  10  years  was  about  18  bushels.  For 
the  first  five  years  of  thai  to-year  period  it  was  18.4  bushels,  and  for  the 

last  five  years  17.4  bushels.  Farther  west,  Kansas  takes  high  rank  as  a 
wheat  producer.      Its  average  yield  per  acre  for  the  last  10  years  was 

(68) 


Address  by  James  J.  Hill 


14.16  bushels.  For  the  first  five  of  those  years  it  was  15.14  and  for  the 
last  five  years  13.18.  Up  in  the  Northwest,  Minnesota  wheat  has  made 
a  name  all  over  the  world.  Her  average  yield  per  acre  for  the  same  10 
years  was  12.96  bushels.  For  the  first  five  years  it  was  13.12,  and  for 
the  last  five  12.8.  We  perceive  here  the  working  of  a  uniform  law,  inde- 
pendent of  location,  of  soil,  or  of  climate.  It  is  the  law  of  a  diminishing 
return  due  to  soil  destruction.  Apply  this  to  the  country  at  large,  and 
it  reduces  agriculture  to  the  condition  of  a  bank  whose  depositors  are 
steadily  drawing  out  more  money  than  they  put  in. 

What  is  true  in  this  instance  is  true  of  our  agriculture  as  a  whole.  In 
no  other  important  country  in  the  world,  with  the  exception  of  Russia, 
is  the  industry  that  must  be  the  foundation  of  every  state  at  so  low  an 
ebb  as  in  our  own.  According  to  the  last  census  the  average  annual 
product  per  acre  of  the  farms  of  the  whole  United  States  was  worth 
$11.38.  It  is  little  more  than  a  respectable  rental  in  communities  where 
the  soil  is  properly  cared  for  and  made  to  give  a  reasonable  return  for 
cultivation.  There  were  but  two  states  in  the  Union  whose  total  value 
of  farm  products  was  over  $30  per  acre  of  improved  land.  The  great 
state  of  Illinois  gave  but  $12.48,  and  Minnesota  showed  only  $8.74.  No 
discrimination  attaches  to  these  figures,  where  all  are  so  much  at  fault. 
Nature  has  given  to  us  the  most  valuable  possession  ever  committed  to 
man.  It  can  never  be  duplicated,  because  there  is  none  like  it  upon  the 
face  of  the  earth.  And  we  are  racking  and  impoverishing  it  exactly  as 
we  are  felling  the  forests  and  rifling  the  mines.  Our  soil,  once  the  envy 
of  every  other  country,  the  attraction  which  draws  millions  of  immi- 
grants across  the  seas,  gave  an  average  yield  for  the  whole  United  States 
during  the  10  years  beginning  with  1896  of  13.5  bushels  of  wheat  per 
acre.  Austria  and  Hungary  each  produced  over  17  bushels  per  acre, 
France  19.8,  Germany  27.6  and  the  United  Kingdom  32.2  bushels  per 
acre.  For  the  same  decade  our  average  yield  of  oats  was  less  than  30 
bushels,  while  Germany  produced  46  and  Great  Britain  42.  For  barley 
the  figures  are  25  against  33  and  34.6;  for  rye  15.4  against  24  for  Ger- 
many and  26  for  Ireland.  In  the  United  Kingdom,  Belgium,  The 
Netherlands  and  Denmark  a  yield  of  more  than  30  bushels  of  wheat  per 
acre  has  been  the  average  for  the  past  five  years. 

When  the  most  fertile  land  in  the  world  produces  so  much  less  than 
that  of  poorer  quality  elsewhere,  and  this  low  yield  shows  a  tendency 
toward  steady  decline,  the  situation  becomes  clear.  We  are  robbing  the 
soil,  in  an  effort  to  get  the  largest  cash  returns  from  each  acre  of  ground 
in  the  shortest  possible  time  and  with  the  least  possible  labor.  This  soil 
is  not  mere  dead  matter,  subject  to  any  sort  of  treatment  with  impunity. 
Chemically,  it  contains  elements  which  must  be  present  in  certain  pro- 
portions for  the  support  of  vegetation.     Physically,  it  is  made  up  of 


(69) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

© 


matter  which  supplies  the  principal  plant  food.  This  food,  with  its 
chemical  constituents  in  proper  admixture,  is  furnished  by  the  decompo- 
sition of  organic  matter  and  the  disintegration  of  mineral  matter  that 
proceed  together.  \Yhatever  disturbs  either  factor  of  the  process,  what- 
ever takes  out  of  the  soil  an  excessive  amount  of  one  or  more  of  the 
chemical  elements  upon  which  plant  growth  depends,  ends  in  sterility. 
Any  agricultural  methods  that  move  in  this  direction  mean  soil  impov- 
erishment; present  returns  at  the  cost  of  future  loss;  the  exhaustion  of 
the  land,  exactly  as  the  animal  system  is  enfeebled  by  lack  of  proper 
nourishment. 

Our  agricultural  lands  have  been  abused  in  two  principal  ways;  first 
by  single  cropping,  and  second  by  neglecting  fertilization.  It  is  fortu- 
nate for  us  that  nature  is  slow  to  anger,  and  that  we  may  arrest  the  con- 
sequence of  this  ruinous  policy  before  it  is  too  late.  In  all  parts  of  the 
United  States,  with  only  isolated  exceptions,  the  system  of  tillage  has 
been  to  select  the  crop  which  would  bring  in  most  money  at  the  current 
market  rate,  to  plant  that  year  after  year,  and  to  move  on  to  virgin 
fields  as  soon  as  the  old  farm  rebelled  by  lowering  the  quality  and  quan- 
tity of  its  return.  It  is  still  the  practice;  although  diversification  of 
industry  and  the  rotation  of  crops  have  been  urged  for  nearly  a  century 
and  are  today  taught  in  every  agricultural  college  in  this  country.  The 
demonstration  of  the  evils  of  single  cropping  is  mathematical  in  its  com- 
pleteness. At  the  experiment  station  of  the  Agricultural  College  of  the 
University  of  Minnesota  they  have  maintained  44  experimental  plots  of 
ground,  adjoining  one  another,  and  as  nearly  identical  in  soil,  cultivation, 
and  care  as  scientific  handling  can  make  them.  On  these  have  been 
tried  and  compared  different  methods  of  crop  rotation  and  fertilization, 
together  with  systems  of  single  cropping.     The  results  of  ten  years' 

periment  are  now  available.  On  a  tract  of  good  ground  sown  con- 
tinuously for  10  years  to  wheat,  the  average  yield  per  acre  for  the  first 
five  years  was  20.22  bushels  and  for  the  next  five  16.92  bushels.  Where 
corn  was  grown  continuously  on  one  plot  while  on  the  plot  beside  it  corn 
planted  but  once  in  five  years  in  a  system  of  rotation,  the  average 
yield  of  the  latter  for  the  two  years  it  was  under  corn  was  48.2  bushels 
re.  The  plot  where  corn  only  was  grown  gave  20.8  bushels  per 
acre  for  the  first  five  and  11.1  bushels  for  the  last  five-year  period,  an 
average  of  [6  bushels.  The  difference  in  average  of  these  two  plots  was 
32.2  bushels,  or  twice  the  total  yield  of  the  ground  exhausted  by  the 
single  en .]>  system.  The  corn  grown  at  the  end  of  the  10  years  was 
hardly  hip  high,  the  ears  small  and  the  grains  light.  But  the  COSl  "1 
cull  1  remained  the  same.     And  the  same  is  true  of  every  other 

grain  or  growth  when  raised  continuously  on  land  unfertilized.      We  fre- 
quently hear  it  said  that  the  reduction  in  yield  is  due  to  the  wearing  out 

(70) 


Address  by  James  J.  Hill 


of  the  soil  as  if  it  was  a  garment  to  be  destroyed  by  the  wearing.  The 
fact  is  that  soils  either  increase  or  maintain  their  productivity  indefinitely 
under  proper  cultivation.  If  the  earth,  the  great  mother  of  human  and 
animal  life,  is  to  "  wear  out,"  what  is  to  become  of  the  race?     [Applause] 

The  two  remedies  are  as  well  ascertained  as  is  the  evil.  Rotation  of 
crops  and  the  use  of  fertilizers  act  as  tonics  upon  the  soil.  We  might 
expand  our  resources  and  add  billions  of  dollars  to  our  national  wealth 
by  conserving  soil  resources,  instead  of  exhausting  them  as  we  have  the 
forests  and  the  contents  of  our  mines.  For  there  is  good  authority  for 
the  assertion  that  the  farmer  could  take  from  the  same  area  of  ground  in 
four  years'  grain  crops  as  much  as  seven  years  now  give  him;  leaving 
the  products  of  the  other  three  years  when  the  land  rested  from  grain  as 
a  clear  profit  due  to  better  methods. 

He  can  do  far  more  than  that  by  joining  live  stock  raising  with  grain 
raising.  Nature  has  provided  the  cattle  to  go  with  the  land.  There  is 
as  much  money  in  live  stock  as  there  is  in  grain.  Looked  at  in  any  way 
there  is  money  in  live  stock;  money  for  dairy  products,  money  for  beef, 
money  for  the  annual  increase,  and  most  money  of  all  for  the  next  year's 
crop  when  every  particle  of  manure  is  saved  and  applied  to  the  land. 

We  need  not  consider  at  present  really  intensive  farming,  such  as  is 
done  by  market  gardeners  with  high  profit,  or  such  culture  as  in  France, 
in  Holland,  in  Belgium,  and  in  the  island  of  Jersey  produces  financial 
returns  per  acre  that  seem  almost  beyond  belief.  The  average  in  money 
per  acre  of  the  island  of  Jersey  for  each  acre  of  cultivated  land  is  over 
$250.  What  our  people  have  to  do  is  to  cover  less  ground,  cultivate 
smaller  farms  so  as  to  make  the  most  of  them  instead  of  getting  a  scant 
and  uncertain  yield  from  several  hundred  acres,  and  raise  productivity 
by  intelligent  treatment  to  twice  or  three  times  its  present  level. 

There  is  more  money  in  this  system.  The  net  profit  from  an  acre  of 
wheat  on  run-down  soils  is  very  small;  consequently  decreasing  the  acre- 
age of  wheat  under  certain  conditions  will  not  materially  decrease  profits. 
Here  are  some  reliable  estimates.  The  price  of  wheat  is  given  from  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  Yearbook,  average  for  ten 
years : 


Yield  in  bushels 


so 
16 
12 
10 
8 


Price 


So. 638 
.638 
.638 
.638 
.638 


Market 

value  per 

acre 


Cost  of  pro- 
duction, 
including 
rent 


>I2.  76 

10.  21 
7.66 
6.38 
S-io 


S7.S9 
7.89 
789 
7.89 
789 


Net  pro6t 
or  loss, 
per  acre 


+   S4.87 
+      2.32 

-  .23 

-  1.5* 

-  ;-79 


From  the  above  table  it  will  be  seen  that  as  large  a  net  profit  is  realized 
from  one  crop  of  20  bushels  per  acre  as  from  two  crops  of  16  bushels;  and 


(71) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


that  a  1 2  bushel  crop  or  less  yields  a  net  loss— that  is,  provided  the  land 
is  charged  with  a  rental  of  $2. 50  an  acre.     It  is  a  safe  conclusion  that  75 
acres  of  land,  growing  a  crop  of  clover  every  fourth  year  will  yield  a 
larger  net  profit  than  will  100  acres  sown  to  grain  continually.     A  small 
field  of  eight  acres  of  clover  in  the  Red  River  Valley  last  year  yielded  42 
bushels  (worth  over  S60)  per  acre,  the  value  coming  from  the  sale  of  seed. 
I  have  dwelt  upon  the  conservation  of  farm  resources  because  of  the 
commanding  importance  of  this  industry  and  because  of  its  relation  to 
our  future.     Nearly  36%  of  our  people  are  engaged  directly  in  agricul- 
ture.    But  all  the  rest  depend  on  it.     In  the  last  analysis,  commerce, 
manufactures,  our  home  market,  every  form  of  activity,  run  back  to  the 
bounty  of  the  earth  by  which  every  worker,  skilled  and  unskilled,  must 
be  fed,  and  by  which  his  wages  are  ultimately  paid.     The  farm  products 
of  the  United  States  in  1906  were  valued  at  $6,794,000,000  and  in  1907 
at  $7. 4 1 2,000,000.     All  of  our  vast  domestic  commerce,  equal  in  value  to 
the  foreign  trade  of  all  the  nations  combined,  is  supported  and  paid  for 
;  be  land.     Of  our  farm  areas  only  one-half  is  improved.     It  does  not 
produce  one-half  of  what  it  could  be  made  to  yield;  not  by  some  com- 
plex system  of  intensive  culture,  but  merely  by  ordinary  care  and  indus- 
try intelligently  applied.     It  is  the  capital  upon  which  alone  we  can  draw 
through  all  the  future,  but  the  amount  of  the  draft  that  will  be  honored 
depends  on  the  care  and  intelligence  given  to  its  cultivation.     Were  any 
statesman  to  show  us  how  to  add  $7,000,000,000  annually  to  our  foreign 
trade,  it  would  be  the  sensation  of  the  hour.     The  way  to  do  this  in  agri- 
culture is  open.     Our  share  in  the  increase  would  not  be  the  percentage 
of  profit  allowed  by  successful  trading,  but  the  entire  capital  sum.     On 
the  other  side  stands  the  fact  that  the  unappropriated  area  suitable  to 
farm  purposes  is  almost  gone,  and  that  we  have  been  for  the  last  century 
reducing  the  producing  power  of  the  country.     Nowhere  in  the  range  of 
national  purposes  is  the  reward  for  conservation  of  a  national  resource  so 
ample.      Nowhere  is  the  penalty  of  neglect  so  threatening.     [Applause] 

By  the  fixed  rate  of  increase  in  the  past,  we  must  count  upon  a  popu- 
lation of  over  200,000,000  in  the  United  States  in  the  year  1950.  The 
annual  increase  from  natural  growth  is  about  one  and  one-half  per  cent 
h  year.  Adding  for  immigration  only  750,000  a  year,  which  is  less 
than  three-quarters  of  the  figures  reached  in  recent  years,  we  shall  have 
about  [30,000,000  people  in  1925,  and  at  least  200,000,000  by  the  middle 
of  the  century.  Where  are  they  to  go,  how  are  they  to  be  employed, 
how  fed,  how  enabled  to  earn  a  living  wage?  The  pressure  of  all  the 
nations  upon  the  waste  places  of  tin-  1  arth  grows  more  intense  as  the  last 
of  them  are  occupied.  We  are  approaching  the  point  when'  all  our  wheal 
product  will  1«-  needed  lor  our  own  uses,  and  we  shall  cease  to  be  an 
exporter  of  ^rain.      There  is  still  some  room  in  Canada,  but  it  will  soon 

(72) 


Address  by  James  J.  Hill 


be  rilled.  The  relief  will  be  but  temporary.  Our  own  people,  whose 
mineral  resources  will  by  that  time  have  greatly  diminished,  must  find 
themselves  thrown  back  upon  the  soil  for  a  living.  If  continued  abuse 
of  the  land  should  mark  the  next  fifty  years  as  it  has  the  last,  what  must 
be  our  outlook? 

Even  the  unintelligent  are  now  coming  to  understand  that  we  cannot 
look  to  our  foreign  trade  for  relief  from  future  embarassment.  Our 
total  exports,  about  one-fourth  in  value  of  the  products  of  our  farms, 
consist  to  the  extent  of  more  than  70%  of  articles  grown  on  the  soil  or 
directly  sustained  by  it,  such  as  live-stock,  or  made  from  soil  products, 
such  as  flour.  Of  all  the  materials  used  in  manufacture  in  this  country, 
42%  are  furnished  by  the  soil.  We  shall  have  less  and  less  of  this 
agricultural  wealth  to  part  with  as  population  increases.  And  as  to 
enlarging  greatly  our  sale  of  manufactured  products  in  the  world's 
markets,  it  is  mostly  a  dream.  We  cannot  finally  compete  there,  except 
in  a  few  selected  lines,  without  a  material  lowering  of  the  wage  scale  at 
home  and  a  change  in  the  national  standard  of  living  which  our  people 
are  not  ready  to  accept  without  a  struggle.  When  capital  cannot  find 
a  profit,  there  will  be  no  money  for  the  payrolls  of  an  unprofitable  busi- 
ness. Doubtless  as  we  grow  we  shall  buy  more  and  sell  more;  but  our 
main  dependence  half  a  century  ahead  must  be  on  ourselves.  The 
Nation  can  no  more  escape  the  operation  of  that  law  than  can  the  man. 
It  is  time  to  set  our  house  in  order.     [Applause] 

Not  only  the  economic  but  the  political  future  is  involved.  No  people 
ever  felt  the  want  of  work  or  the  pinch  of  poverty  for  a  long  time  without 
reaching  out  violent  hands  against  their  political  institutions,  believing 
that  they  might  find  in  a  change  some  relief  from  their  distress.  Although 
there  have  been  moments  of  such  restlessness  in  our  country,  the  trial 
has  never  been  so  severe  or  so  prolonged  as  to  put  us  to  the  test.  It  is 
interesting  that  one  of  the  ablest  men  in  England  during  the  last  century, 
a  historian  of  high  merit,  a  statesman  who  saw  active  service,  and  a 
profound  student  of  men  and  things,  put  on  record  his  prophecy  of  such 
a  future  ordeal.  Writing  to  an  American  correspondent  50  years  ago, 
Lord  Macauley  used  these  words: 

As  long  as  you  have  a  boundless  extent  of  fertile  and  unoccupied  land  your  laboring 
population  will  be  found  more  at  ease  than  the  laboring  population  of  the  Old  World ; 
but  the  time  will  come  when  wages  will  be  as  low  and  will  fluctuate  as  much  with 
you  as  they  do  with  us.  Then  your  institutions  will  be  brought  to  the  test.  Distress 
everywhere  makes  the  laborer  mutinous  and  discontented  and  inclines  him  to  listen 
with  eagerness  to  agitators  who  tell  him  that  it  is  a  monstrous  iniquity  that  one  man 
should  have  a  million  and  another  cannot  get  a  full  meal.  *  *  *  The  day  will 
come  when  the  multitudes  of  people,  none  of  whom  has  had  more  than  half  a  break- 
fast or  expects  to  have  more  than  half  a  dinner,  will  choose  a  legislature.  Is  it  pos- 
sible to  doubt  what  sort  of  legislature  will  be  chosen?  *  *  *  There  will  be,  I 
fear,  spoliation.     The  spoliation  will  increase  the  distress;    the  distress  will  produce 

(73) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


fresh  spoliation.  *  *  *  Either  civilization  or  liberty  will  perish.  Either  some 
Caesar  or  Napoleon  will  seize  the  reins  of  government  with  a  strong  hand,  or  your 
Republic  will  be  as  fearfully  plundered  and  laid  waste  by  barbarians  in  the  twentieth 
century  as  the  Roman  Empire  in  the  fifth. 

We  need  not  accept  this  gloomy  picture  too  literally,  but  we  have 
been  already  sufficiently  warned  to  prevent  us  from  dismissing  the  sub- 
ject as  unworthy  of  attention.  Every  nation  finds  its  hour  of  peril  when 
there  is  no  longer  free  access  .to  the  land,  or  when  the  land  will  no  longer 
support  the  people.  Disturbances  within  are  more  to  be  feared  than 
attacks  from  without.  Our  Government  is  built  upon  the  assumption 
of  a  fairly  contented,  happy,  and  prosperous  people,  ruling  their  passions, 
with  power  to  change  their  institutions  when  such  change  is  generally 
desired.  It  would  not  be  strange  if  they  should  in  their  desire  for  change 
attempt  to  pull  down  the  pillars  of  their  national  temple.  Far  may  this 
day  be  from  us!  But  since  the  unnecessary  destruction  of  our  land  will 
bring  new  conditions  of  danger,  its  conservation,  its  improvement  to  the 
highest  point  of  productivity  promised  by  scientific  intelligence  and 
practical  experiment,  appears  to  be  a  first  command  of  any  political 
economy  worthy  of  the  name.     [Applause] 

I  have  endeavored  to  outline  some  of  the  principal  issues  at  stake  in 
the  better  conservation  of  our  national  resources,  and  especially  that  one 
about  which  all  the  others  revolve  and  by  whose  fortunes  we  shall  event- 
ually stand  or  fall— the  land  itself.  They  are  for  us  quite  literally  the 
issues  of  national  existence.  The  era  of  unlimited  expansion  on  every 
side,  of  having  but  to  reach  out  and  seize  any  desired  good,  ready  pro- 
vided for  us  by  the  hand  that  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth ,  is  drawing 
to  a  close.  The  first  task,  it  seems  to  me,  must  be  to  force  home  the  facts 
of  the  situation  into  the  public  consciousness;  to  make  men  realize  their 
duty  toward  coming  generations  exactly  as  the  father  feels  it  a  duty  to 
see  that  his  children  do  not  suffer  want.  In  a  democracy  this  is  a  first 
ntial.  In  other  forms  of  government  one  or  two  great  men  may  have 
power  to  correct  mistakes,  and  to  put  in  motion  wise  policies  that  centuries 
do  not  unsettle.  A  part  of  the  price  of  self-government  is  the  acceptance 
of  that  high  office  and  imperative  duty  as  a  whole  by  the  people  them- 
selves. They  must  know,  they  must  weigh,  they  must  act.  Only  as 
they  form  and  give  effect  to  wise  decisions  can  the  nation  go  forward. 
And  we  should  not  be  here  today  were  it  not  that  the  principle  of  a  con- 
ation of  national  resources  as  the  foremost  and  controlling  policy  of 
tin  United  States  henceforth  is  coming  to  be  seen  by  many,  and  must 
be  heartily  aco  pted  by  all,  as  the  first  condition  not  only  of  continued 
material  |  rity,  but  also  of  the  perpetuation  of  free  institutions  and 

a  government  by  the  People.  The  work  now  being  done  by  the  Depart- 
ment "I"  Agriculture  and  the  agricultural  colleges  of  the  various  states, 
furnish)  -  a  broad  and  intelligent  foundation  upon  which  to  build  up  a 

(74) 


Address  by  James  J.  Hill 


new  era  of  national  progress  and  prosperity.  It  calls  for  a  wise,  generous 
and  continuing  policy  on  the  part  of  both  Federal  and  State  govern- 
ments.    [Applause] 

If  this  patriotic  gospel  is  to  make  headway,  it  must  be  by  just  such 
organized  missionary  work  as  is  here  begun.  It  cannot  go  on  and  con- 
quer if  imposed  from  without.  It  must  come  to  represent  the  fixed  idea 
of  the  People's  mind,  their  determination  and  their  hope.  It  can  not  be 
incorporated  in  our  practical  life  by  the  dictum  of  arty  individual  or  any 
officer  of  Nation  or  State  in  his  official  capacity.  It  needs  the  coopera- 
tion of  all  the  influences,  the  help  of  every  voice,  the  commendation  of 
Nation  and  State  that  has  been  the  strength  and  inspiration  of  every 
worthy  work  on  American  soil  for  120  years.  We  return,  for  our  gather- 
ing in  council  and  for  our  plan  of  action  for  the  future,  to  the  model  given 
us  by  the  Fathers.  State  and  Nation  are  represented  here,  without  jeal- 
ously or  any  ambition  of  superiority  on  either  side,  to  apply  to  the  con- 
sideration of  our  future  such  cooperation  as  that  out  of  which  this  Nation 
was  born  and  by  which  it  has  won  to  worthy  manhood.  Reviving  the 
spirit  of  the  days  that  created  our  Constitution,  the  days  that  carried  us 
through  civil  conflict,  the  spirit  by  which  all  our  enduring  work  in  the 
world  has  been  wrought ;  taking  thought  as  Washington  and  Lincoln  took 
thought,  only  for  the  highest  good  of  all  the  People,  we  may,  as  a  result 
of  the  deliberations  held  and  the  conclusions  reached  here  today,  give 
new  meaning  to  our  future,  new  lustre  to  the  ideal  of  a  Republic  of  living 
federated  states;  may  shape  anew  the  fortunes  of  this  country,  and  en- 
large the  borders  of  hope  for  all  mankind.     [Long  and  continued  applause] 


The  Presiding  Officer  (Governor  Johnson)  :  The  next  statement  on 
the  official  calendar  is  an  address  on  "Soil  Wastage,"  by  Professor  Cham- 
berlin.     [Applause] 

SOIL  WASTAGE 
Thomas  Chrowder  Chamberun,  Ph.  D.,  LL.  D.,Sc.  D.f 

PRES.  AM.  ASSC.    ADV.    SCI.;   HEAD  DEPT.  GEOLOGY,   UNIV.  OF   CHICAGO;    ED. 

JOURNAL  OF   GEOLOGY,    ETC. 


Mr  President,  Governors,  Gentlemen: 

The  invitation  to  give  thought  to  the  resources  that  affect  our  future 
appeals  to  me  with  peculiar  force,  for  my  studies  of  the  past  decade  have 
led  to  the  belief  that  the  era  of  the  earth's  future  habitability  is  vastlv 
greater  than  we  have  been  wont  to  think.     We  have  grown  up  in  the 

(75) 
56254—09 8 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

belief  that  the  earth  sprang  from  chaos  at  the  opening  of  our  era  and  is 
plunging  on  to  catastrophe  or  to  a  final  winter  in  the  near  future.  Quite 
at  variance  with  this,  I  have  come  to  believe  that  the  earth  arose  from  a 
regenerative  process  and  that  it  offers  a  fair  prospect  of  fitness  for  habi- 
tation for  ages  yet  to  come.  If  this  be  true,  it  is  eminently  fitting  that 
our  race  should  give  a  due  measure  of  thought  to  the  ulterior  effects  of  its 
actions.  These  considerations  especially  intensify  the  problem  of  that 
resource  on  which  our  civilization  so  profoundly  depends,  as  has  been 
said  before  us  with  such  cogency  and  eloquence. 

It  is  one  of  the  latest  conceptions  of  geology  that  climatic  conditions 
have  been  of  the  same  order  as  at  present  from  early  eras,  in  the  large 
view,  in  spite  of  some  notable  variations,  and  that  this  uniformity  is  the 
result  of  a  profound  regulative  system  which  has  sufficed  to  keep  the  tem- 
perature of  the  earth's  surface  and  the  constitution  of  the  earth's  atmos- 
phere within  the  narrow  range  congenial  to  life  for  a  vast  period.  As  a 
result  there  has  been  no  break  in  the  continuity  of  land  life  since  it  came 
into  being  eras  ago.  It  appears  further  that  the  sources  of  supply  of  the 
vital  elements  are  still  adequate,  and  are  likely  to  be  so  for  long  ages,  that 
the  regulative  system  is  still  in  effective  control,  and  that  a  vast  future 
of  habitability  may  fairly  be  predicted.  Whether  you  are  prepared  to 
accept  so  large  a  view  of  the  habitable  future  or  not,  I  trust  you  will 
strike  hands  with  me  in  the  conviction  that  the  probabilities  of  the  future 
are  at  least  so  great  as  to  render  imperative  the  serious  consideration 
of  our  obligations  toward  it. 

It  is  a  familiar  geologic  deduction  that  for  long  eras  rains  have  fallen 
on  the  lands,  and  soils  have  grown  in  depth  while  the  surface  has  been 
washed  away.  Production  and  removal  have  run  hand  in  hand,  and 
yet  they  have  been  controlled  to  such  a  degree  by  the  adjustments  of 
nature  that  no  part  of  the  surface  seems  ever  to  have  been  so  far  denuded 
that  plants  could  not  flourish  upon  it.  More  than  this,  it  appears  that 
the  ordinary  adjustments  of  nature  make  for  increasing  fertility  of  soil 
rather  than  depletion.  It  is  true  that  at  intervals  deformations  of  the 
earth  have  intervened,  giving  mountainous  heights  and  precipitous  sur- 
faces from  which  the  soil-product  has  been  washed  faster  than  it  could 
be  produced ;  but  these  diastrophic  effects  are  perhaps  rather  rejuneva- 
tions  necessary  to  the  preservation  of  the  continents  than  destructive 
episodes.  Whenever  such  heights  and  slopes  have  been  raised,  the 
atmosphere  and  its  waters  have  at  once  begun  to  grade  them  down,  to 
cover  them  with  soil,  and  to  give  to  them  a  renewed  habitability.  So, 
in  these  and  other  ways,  the  gifts  of  the  great  past  now  present  themselves 
to  us  as  the  product  of  a  marvelous  system  of  control  which  has  checked 

exo  Hid    forced    movement    toward    the    means   in    wliieli    has   lain 

productivity  and  cong<  Dialit  y  to  life.     Thus  has  come  our  inheritance  of  a 


Address  by  Professor  Chamberlin 


land  suitable  for  habitation,  of  a  soil-mantle  of  great  fertility,  of  a  precip- 
itation conducive  to  productiveness,  and  of  a  system  of  streams  endowed 
with  great  possibilities  of  water-foods,  of  power,  and  of  navigation. 

We  do  not  hesitate  to  enter  into  the  inheritance;  but  what  part  shall 
we  take  in  this  regulative  system  that  produced  and  maintains  it? 
How  shall  we  cooperate  with  nature  in  rendering  conditions  still  more 
serviceable  to  ourselves,  and  in  transmitting  a  still  greater  inheritance  to 
our  successors?  Clearly  we  may  use  the  proper  revenues  of  our  inheri- 
tance, but  surely  we  should  not  rob  our  successors  of  their  share  in  it! 
[Applause] 

Let  us  turn  at  once  to  the  basal  factor  in  the  problem,  the  rainfall,  the 
soil,  and  the  soil-wastage,  the  special  theme  of  this  hour.  The  rainfall 
is  an  inherited  asset,  the  soil  is  an  inherited  asset,  even  a  little  soil  re- 
moval is  an  asset,  but  reckless  soil-wastage  is  a  serious  error.  Soils  are 
the  product  of  the  atmosphere  and  its  waters  modifying  the  rock  sur- 
face. When  the  atmospheric  waters  have  aided  the  air  in  producing  soil 
by  rock  decay  they  may  pass,  on  the  one  hand,  into  plants  or  back  to  the 
surface  soil,  and  thence  to  the  atmosphere  by  evaporation,  or,  on  the 
other  hand,  they  may  pass  on  down  to  the  ground-waters  and  thence  into 
the  streams.  The  alternative  is  to  rush  away  as  foul  erosive  floods  on 
the  surface,  wasting  soil  and  plant  food,  gullying  the  surface,  choking  the 
ravines,  flooding  the  valleys,  silting  the  pools,  filling  the  reservoirs, 
sweeping  out  the  dams,  barring  the  streams  and  clogging  the  harbors. 
If  it  shall  be  found  that  all  or  nearly  all  the  waters  should  go  into  the  soil 
and  thence  into  the  underdrainage,  coming  out  slowly  and  steadily  by 
seepage  and  by  springs  into  the  streams,  clear  and  pure,  these  streams 
should  present  nearly  ideal  conditions  for  water-food,  for  power,  and  for 
navigation.  The  solution  of  the  soil  problem  may  therefore  be,  in  large 
part,  the  solution  of  the  whole  complex  of  problems  of  which  navigation 
is  the  last  term.     It  may  thus  prove  to  be  the  key  problem. 

To  see  more  definitely  if  this  be  so  or  not,  we  must  turn  to  details; 
and  yet,  with  the  brevity  that  is  imperative,  we  may  only  look  at  major 
details,  passing  by  the  multitude  of  special  cases,  not  to  say  exceptions. 

While  soils  are  formed  by  the  action  of  the  atmosphere  and  its  waters 
on  and  in  the  underlying  rock  (aided  by  plants  and  animals),  their  sur- 
faces are  carried  away  by  wind  and  wash.  At  any  instant,  then,  the 
depth  of  the  soil  measures  the  lag  of  removal  behind  production.  It  is 
well  that  we  hasten  to  note  that  the  addition  of  new  soil  below  and  the 
loss  of  exhausted  soil  above  are  alike  tributary  to  permanent  fertility, 
and  the  highest  productivity  springs  from  the  proper  ratio  of  basal  addition 
to  surface  wastage. 

We  have  as  yet  no  accurate  measure  of  the  rate  of  soil  production.  We 
merely  know  that  it  is  very  slow.     It  varies  obviously  with  the  kind  of 


(77) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

rock.  Some  of  our  soils'are  derived  from  material  already  reduced  to  a 
finely  pulverized  condition.  Such  are  the  lowland  accumulations  from 
highland  wash.  Such  also  is  the  glacial  drift,  rock-flour  rasped  from  the 
face  of  the  ledge  by  the  glacial  file,  and  ground  up  with  old  soils.  On 
such  a  base  of  half-prepared  material,  soils  may  be  developed  with  relative 
rapidity;  but  even  on  these,  when  the  slope  is  considerable,  wind,  wash 
and  cropping  remove  the  surface  much  too  fast  for  stable  fertility.  For 
average  rock,  under  ordinary  conditions,  in  our  range  of  climate,  the 
usual  estimate  has  been  a  foot  of  waste  in  from  4,000  to  6,000  years,  which 
includes  channel-cutting  and  bank-undermining.  These  are  too  rapid 
for  ordinary  soil  waste  and  replacement  under  our  normal  natural  condi- 
tions. Without  any  pretensions  to  a  close  estimate,  I  should  be  unwilling 
to  name  a  mean  rate  of  soil-formation  greater  than  one  foot  in  10,000 
years  on  the  basis  of  observations  since  the  glacial  period.  I  suspect 
that  if  we  could  positively  determine  the  time  taken  in  the  formation  of 
the  four  feet  of  soil  next  to  the  rock  over  our  average  domain,  where 
such  depth  obtains,  it  would  be  found  above  rather  than  below  40,000 
years.  Under  such  an  estimate,  to  preserve  a  good  working  depth, 
surface  wastage  should  not  exceed  some  such  rate  as  one  inch  in  a  thou- 
sand years.  If  one  chooses  to  indulge  in  a  more  liberal  estimate  of  the 
soil-forming  rate,  it  will  still  appear,  under  any  intelligent  estimate,  that 
surface  wastage  is  a  serious  menace  to  the  retention  of  our  soils  under 
present  modes  of  management.  Historical  evidence  enforces  this  danger. 
In  the  Orient  there  are  large  tracts  almost  absolutely  bare  of  soil,  on 
which  stand  ruins  implying  former  flourishing  populations.  Other  long- 
tilled  lands  bear  similar  testimony.  It  must  be  noted  that  more  than 
loss  of  fertility  is  here  menaced.  It  is  the  loss  of  the  soil-body  itself,  a 
loss  almost  beyond  repair.  When  our  soils  are  gone,  we  too  must  go, 
unless  we  shall  find  some  way  to  feed  on  raw  rock  or  its  equivalent. 
The  immense  tonnage  of  soil-material  carried  out  to  sea  annually  by  our 
rivers,  even  when  allowance  is  made  for  laudable  wash,  and  for  material 
derived  from  the  river  channels,  is  an  impressive  warning  of  the  danger 
of  negligent  practices.  Nor  is  this  all;  the  wash  from  one  acre  is  often 
made  the  waste-cover  for  another  acre,  o*r  for  several.  Sometimes  one's 
loss  is  another's  gain,  but  all  too  frequently  one's  loss  is  another's  disaster; 
and  the  1 .000,000,000  or  more  tons  of  richest  soil-matter  annually  carried 
into  the  sea  by  our  rivers  is  the  Nation's  loss.     [Applause] 

If  the  atmospheric  waters  ma}-  not  run  off  the  surface  freely  without 
serious  menace,  where  may  they  go  and  what  may  they  do  consistent 
with  our  v.<  [fare?  The  answer  lies  in  a  return  to  the  study  of  the  origin 
and  internal  work  of  soils.  For  necessary  brevity,  let  ns  neglect  all 
secondary  soils,  or  overplacements,  and  consider  simply  the  origin  and 

activities  of  primary  soils  derived  from   primary   rocks.      The  action  of 

(78) 


Address  by  Professor  Chamberlin 


air  and  water  in  producing  soil  from  such  rock  is  partly  chemical  and 
partly  physical.  Certain  rock  substances  are  made  soluble  and  become 
plant  food  or  plant  poisons,  while  others  remain  relatively  insoluble  but  are 
reduced  to  a  finely  divided  state  and  form  the  earthy  element  of  the  soil. 

Some  of  the  soluble  substances  thus  formed  at  the  base  of  soils  are 
necessary  plant  food,  while  some  are  harmful;  but  what  is  more  to  the 
point,  all  are  harmful  if  too  concentrated.  There  is  need  therefore  that 
enough  water  pass  through  the  forming  soil,  and  on  down  to  the  ground- 
water and  out  through  the  underdrainage,  to  carry  away  the  excess  of 
these  products.  An  essential  part  of  the  best  adjustment  is  thus  seen  to 
lie  in  a  proper  apportionment  of  the  amount  of  water  which  goes  through  the 
soils.  If  this  be  not  enough,  the  plants  will  suffer  from  saline  excess;  if 
it  be  too  much,  the  plants  may  suffer  from  saline  deficiency. 

When  evaporation  from  the  surface  is  active  and  prolonged,  waters 
which  had  previously  gone  down  to  the  zone  of  soil-formation  and  taken 
up  soluble  matter  re-ascend,  bringing  the  soluble  matter  up  and  leaving 
it  at  the  surface  on  evaporation.  Up  to  a  certain  point  this  is  favorable 
to  the  plant;  beyond  the  critical  point  it  begins  to  be  harmful,  as  abun- 
dantly shown  in  the  "alkaline"  efflorescences  of  arid  regions. 

Besides  the  water  that  goes  through  the  soil  into  the  subdrainage,  and 
that  which  runs  off  on  the  surface,  enough  must  be  held  at  all  times  in 
the  soil  during  the  growing  season  to  supply  the  plants,  and  yet  not  enough 
to  water-log  the  soil. 

Here,  then,  lie  a  series  of  possible  excesses  and  deficiencies;  between 
them  falls  the  golden  mean  which  gives  best  results.  Thus  the  problem 
of  soil  management  is  a  problem  of  proper  balancings  and  adjustments, 
a  problem  to  be  solved  by  science  and  common-sense  forced  to  their  best 
by  the  energy  and  intelligence  of  the  American  farmer.     [Applause] 

The  key  to  the  problem  of  soil  conservation  lies  in  due  control  of  the 
water  which  falls  on  each  acre.  This  water  is  an  asset  of  great  possible 
value.  It  should  be  looked  upon  as  such.  It  should  be  computed  by 
every  acre-owner  as  a  possible  value,  saved  if  turned  where  it  will  do 
good,  lost  if  permitted  to  run  away,  doubly  lost  if  it  carries  also  soil 
values  and  does  destructive  work  below.  Let  us  repeat  the  story  of  its 
laudable  paths.  A  due  portion  of  the  rainfall  should  go  through  the  soil 
to  its  bottom  to  promote  soil-formation  there;  a  due  portion  of  this  should 
go  on  into  the  underdrainage  carrying  away  harmful  matter;  a  due  por- 
tion should  go  again  up  to  the  surface  carrying  solutions  needed  by  tlie 
plants;  a  due  portion  should  obviously  go  into  the  plants  to  nourish 
them;  while  still  another  portion  should  run  off  the  surface,  carrying 
away  a  little  of  the  leached  soil  matter.  There  are  a  multitude  of  im- 
portant details  in  this  complex  of  actions  but  they  must  be  passed  by; 
the  great  features  are  clear  and  imperative. 


(79) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

Experimental  studies  have  shown  that,  on  the  average  within  our 
domain,  crops  can  use  to  advantage  all  the  rain  jail  during  the  growing 
season,  and  that,  in  most  cases,  crops  are  the  better  for  all  the  stored  sup- 
plies- that  can  be  carried  over  from  the  non-growing  seasons.  This  greatly 
simplifies  the  general  problem,  for  it  justifies  the  conclusion — to  which 
there  are  many  local  exceptions,  of  course — that  the  highest  crop-values 
will  usually  be  secured  when  the  soil  is  made  to  absorb  as  much  of  the 
rainfall  and  snowfall  as  practicable.  In  securing  this  maximum  absorp- 
tion and  internal  soil- work,  the  run-off,  and  hence  the  surface  wash,  will 
be  reduced  to  a  minimum.  It  has  already  been  seen  that  the  wash  of 
even  this  inevitable  minimum  is  likely  to  be  still  too  great  to  keep  the 
proper  slow  pace  with  soil-generation,  when  the  surface  has  much  slope. 
Except  on  nearly  level  ground  and  on  lodgment  surfaces,  there  need  be 
no  solicitude  about  a  sufficient  removal  of  the  soil  matter.  The  practi- 
cal problem  then  lies  almost  wholly  in  retaining  and  passing  into  the  soil 
the  maximum  of  the  precipitation.  Obviously,  this  gives  the  minimum 
of  wash  to  foul  the  streams,  to  spread  over  the  bottom  lands,  to  choke  the 
reservoirs,  to  waste  the  water-power,  and  to  bar  up  the  navigable  rivers. 
Tlie  solution  of  the  problem  for  tlie  tiller  of  the  soil  essentially  solves  the 
whole  train  of  problems  running  from  farm  to  river  and  from  crop-produc- 
tion to  navigation.     [Applause] 

Time  fails  now  to  point  out  the  ways  in  which  the  control  of  the  soils 
and  the  waters  may  be  effected;  this  will  follow  in  the  later  paragraphs 
soon  to  be  placed  in  your  hands.     [Applause] 

Nature  has  been  working  on  the  complex  problems  of  balance  between 
soil  formation,  soil  waste,  surface  slope,  plant  growth,  and  stream  devel- 
opment for  uncounted  ages,  and  we  have  inherited  the  result — a  mag- 
nificent patrimony.  The  larger  part  of  our  domain,  when  invaded  by 
us,  had  reached  a  fair  adjustment  of  slopes  to  precipitation,  was  covered 
with  a  soil-mantle  of  fair  depth  and  high  average  fertility,  and  was  clothed 
with  rich  vegetation.  There  were  exceptions  to  this,  and  some  of  these 
were  large;  but  they  may  be  passed  over  in  a  general  view. 

Looking  at  nature's  methods  for  suggestions,  we  note  that  a  much 
larger  variety  of  plants  are  used  by  nature  to  cover  and  protect  the  soil 
than  we  use,  and  that  these  have  a  wider  range  of  adaptation  to  the 
special  situations  where  protection  is  needed.  This  invites  the  inquiry 
whether  it  is  not  possible  to  follow  this  precedent  further  than  we  have 
done  by  developing  a  larger  number  of  profitable  plants,  among  which 
shall  be  more  I  hat  are  adapted  to  protecting  the  surface,  and  to  growing 
on  slopes  Specially  subject  to  wash.  Forest  trees  are  an  important 
i  ource  of  this  kind  and  should  be  employed  as  fully  as  practicable,  as 
will,  no  doubt,  be  urged  with  great  cogency  by  those  who  discuss  the 
problem  of  forestry.     We  also  have  many  berry-bearing  shrubs,  vines, 

(80) 


Address  by  Professor  Chamberlin 


and  fruit  trees,  whose  employment  to  the  maximum  in  covering  slopes 
is  likewise  urged  either  alone  or  in  conjunction  with  forests — though 
berries  and  fruits  are  perishable  and  have  limitations  of  preservation, 
transportation,  market,  etc.  But  if  shrubs  could  be  evolved  by  modern 
selective  methods  whose  nut-meats  or  dry  seeds  would  be  suitable  for 
food  in  place  of  the  watery  pulp,  and  which  could  be  treated  much  as 
cereals  are,  and  have  equally  wide  year-round  markets,  there  would  be 
a  larger  choice  of  crops  to  grow  in  soils  subject  to  wash,  and  we  might 
secure  soil-protection  with  less  crop-limitation.  There  would  then  be 
less  need  to  press  the  culture  of  the  cereals  so  far  as  we  do  now,  and  they 
could  be  limited  more  largely  to  surfaces  less  subject  to  harmful  soil-loss. 

Another  marked  feature  of  nature's  method  is  the  development  of 
plant-societies,  or  from  our  point  of  view,  combination-crops.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  there  is  much  deleterious  crowding  and  repressive 
rivalry  among  the  natural  mixtures  of  plants,  but  at  the  same  time, 
there  seem  to  be  associations  that  are  mutually  beneficial.  No  doubt 
man  secures  a  great  temporary  advantage  by  isolating  chosen  plants  and 
freeing  them  from  competition,  but  this  is  clearly  at  some  permanent  dis- 
advantage which  is  partially  corrected  by  rotation,  fertilizing,  and  tilth. 
Cannot  a  greater  advantage  be  secured  by  a  larger  use  of  the  combina- 
tion method?  It  is  clear  that  legumes  and  cereals  are  helpful  associates 
in  rotation  and  in  some  combinations.  May  not  this  be  pushed  so  far 
by  skillful  selection  and  proper  culture  that  legumes  and  helpful  asso- 
ciates may  replace  weeds  in  becoming  the  constant  and  spontaneous 
associates  of  cereal  crops,  so  that,  while  kept  in  such  subordination  as 
to  be  the  servants  of  the  cereals,  they  may  still  aid  in  covering  and  pro- 
tecting the  soil,  and  thus  guard  against  undue  surface  loss?  Certainly 
much  can  be  done  by  such  plants,  used  as  fall  and  spring  crops,  to  cover 
the  soil  when  specially  exposed  to  wastage. 

The  full  list  of  tried  methods  should  be  pressed  into  the  utmost 
employment. 

Since  a  chief  object  is  to  cause  the  maximum  of  rainfall  to  be  absorbed 
into  the  soil,  it  is  obvious  that  all  methods  of  culture  and  all  crops  that 
increase  the  granularity  and  porosity  of  the  soil  contribute  to  the  end 
sought.  Deep  tilth  to  promote  soil  granulation,  and  deep-rooting  plants 
to  produce  root-tubes,  are  specific  modes  of  great  value. 

Artificial  underdrainage,  by  preventing  the  water-logging  of  the  soil 
and  by  promoting  its  granulation,  assists  in  absorption  and  transmission. 

Contour  cultivation,  by  arresting  the  direct  descent  of  the  waters  on 
the  surface  and  distributing  them  along  the  slopes,  when  properly  con- 
trolled aids  absorption  and  limits  surface  wash.  On  the  steeper  slopes, 
special  devices  may  be  used  to  supplement  contour  cultivation,  such  as 
strips  of  grass-land,  or  shrub-land,  or  wood-land,  alternating  with  zones 

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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


of  plow-land.     Reservoirs,  either  at  the  heads  of  ravines  or  at  suitable 
heights  in  the  ravines  where  surface  wash  is  concentrated,  may  be  used 
to  arrest  storm-floods;  and  if  these  are  connected  with  lines  of  tile-drain 
following  contours  on  either  hand,  the  concentrated  waters  will  be  redis- 
tributed\nd  at  the  same  time  transferred  from  the  surface  to  the  subsoil. 
These  and  similar  devices  serve  to  limit  the  wash  of  the  slopes,  but  the 
more  radical  and  permanent  remedies  will,   I   think,  be  found  in  the 
development  of  values  in  trees,  shrubs,  vines,  and  grasses  to  such  an 
extent  that  they  may  be  employed  almost  exclusively  in  clothing  the 
steeper  slopes,  where  wash  is  most  menacing  and  where  the  usual  modes 
of  culture  that  give  rise  to  bare  surfaces  during  portions  of  the  year  can 
scarcely  fail  to  involve  a  degree  of  wash  which  cannot  be  replaced  by 
soil  growth  below.     Is  not  the  time  at  hand  when  trees,  shrubs,  vines, 
grasses,  and  combinations  of  these,  may  be  so  developed  and  extended 
in  value  and  availability  by  modern  selective  processes  that  they  shall 
become  sufficiently  profitable  crops  to  monopolize  all  the  areas  where 
wash  threatens  the  ultimate  removal  of  the  whole  soil?     By  such  exten- 
sion of  these  crops  may  not  the  bare-surface  culture  be  so  limited  to 
relatively  level  lands  as  to  cause  in  these,  when  intelligently  handled, 
only  that  degree  of  surface  loss  which  they  can  stand  without  menace  to 
the  perpetuity  of  the  soil? 

But  a  critical  question  remains  to  be  answered:  Can  such  modes  of 
soil-management  and  crop-selection  be  made  to  give  reasonable  profits? 
Before  we  can  hope  that  the  millions  who  till  the  soils  will  join  effectively 
in  a  radical  scheme  of  soil-conservation,  it  must  be  made  to  appear  that 
it  will  give  some  reasonable  returns  at  every  large  stage  of  its  progress; 
must  pay,  let  us  say,  in  the  long  run  of  a  lifetime.     We  may  fairly 
assume  that  intelligent  people  will  be  guided  by  the  total  returns  of  a 
lifetime,  in  lieu  of  beguilement  by  the  ultra-quick  returns  of  forced  and 
wasteful  cropping  in  total  neglect  of  later  results.     It  may  be  assumed 
that  he  who  tills  a  farm  from  his  twentieth  to  his  sixtieth  year  will  find 
more  satisfaction  in   the  summed  profits  of  forty  crops  of  increasing 
value  enhanced  by  the  higher  value  of  his  land  at  the  end,  even  though 
the  margin  above  cost  be  no  greater,  than  in  the  sum  of  forty  crops  of 
decreasing  values  with  :i  debased  value  of  the  land  at  the  end.     Our 
practical   problem  is  therefore  to  so  improve  processes,  to  so  increase 
intelligent   management,  and  to  so  exalt  the  point  of  view,  that  every 
p  in  th«-  processes  proposed  shall  give  satisfactory  returns  for  the  labor 
involved.      How  far  this  is  practicable  just  now,  I  must  leave  to  those 
u|,,  chnical  knowledge  in  the  practical  art  of  tillage  fits  them  to 

answer,   mil    in   any  event    it    seems  that   this  mnsl    become  so  in   time; 

for  if  the  loss  of  soils  proceeds  al  the  presenl  rate  and  the  number  <>f 
inhabitants  continues  to  increa  i    as  now,  the  value  of  the  residue  of 

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Address  by  Professor  Chamberlin 


tillable  land  which  will  remain  after  a  few  centuries  will  so  appreciate 
as  to  force  extreme  measures  for  its  conservation.  The  pitiable  struggles 
of  certain  Oriental  peoples  to  retain  and  cultivate  the  scant  remnants 
of  once  ample  soils  is  both  an  example  and  a  warning.  Our  escape  from 
such  a  dire  struggle  should  spring  from  a  clearer  fore  vision,  a  deeper 
insight,  greater  technical  skill,  and  indefatigable  industry. 

[Note.— Much  valuable  literature  bearing  on  this  and  kindred  subjects 
will  be  found  in  the  numerous  publications  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of 
Agriculture  and  the  several  State  Agricultural  Stations.  Notable  among 
these  is  the  Farmers  Bulletin  No.  20,  on  "Washed  Soils,"  and  a  special 
contribution  to  "Soil  Erosion,"  prepared  for  the  Secretary  by  W  J 
McGee;  together  with  an  article  by  the  same  author  on  "The  Beginning 
of  Agriculture."  The  fundamental  work  on  "Rocks,  Weatherin-  and 
Soils"  by  Dr  Geo.  P.  Merrill  of  the  National  Museum  is  also  to  be  noted. 
Particularly  valuable  are  the  writings  of  Professor  F.  H.  King  on  "Soils  " 
"Soil  Physics"  and  "Soil  Management,"  and,  especially  for  the  south 
and  west,  the  work  on  "Soils,"  by  Professor  E.  W.  Hilgard.] 


The    Presiding    Officer    (Governor   Johnson)  :  The    next    opening 
statement  on  our  program  is  "Forest  Conservation"  by  R.  A.   Long 
[Applause] 


FOREST  CONSERVATION 
R.  A.  Long 


Mr  President  and  Gentlemen: 

President  Roosevelt,  in  addressing  a  body  of  business  men  in  June 
1903,  among  other  things  said:  "The  forest  problem  is  in  many  ways 
the  most  vital  internal  problem  before  the  American  public  today," 
and  that  "the  more  closely  this  statement  is  examined,  the  more  evident 
its  truth  becomes." 

I  want  thus  early  in  my  address  to  lend  emphasis  to  this  statement 
for  coming  from  such  a  source  and  from  one  so  prolific  of  good  deeds 
pertaining  to  public  matters,  and  one  who  has  given  such  careful  study 
and  arrived  at  such  wise  conclusions  concerning  so  many  of  the  live  and 
vitally  important  subjects  before  us  in  recent  years,  it  should  induce  our 
minds  to  be  in  a  most  receptive  mood,  and  if  what  we  have  to  say  is  true 
and  practicable,  it  is  advisable  that  it  shall  find  such  lodgment  in  the 
minds  of  our- people  as  will  compel  action,  and  result  in  carrying  out  the 
purposes  for  which  this  conference  is  called. 

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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

Since  I  was  to  be  honored  with  a  place  on  this  platform,  I  am  glad  this 
subject  was  left  for  me ;  for  it  has  to  do  with  a  thrilling,  throbbing,  and 
beautiful  life,  which  is  less  true  of  any  of  the  other  subjects  to  be  discussed. 

True,  some  of  our  forests,  as  it  were,  lay  aside  their  beautiful  gowns 
in  the  fall,  passing  apparently  into  sleep,  in  which  condition  they  remain 
until  spring,  when  again  they  don  a  garb  even  more  beautiful — not  of 
silk  or  satin,  trimmed  with  gorgeous  ornamentation  of  man-made  goods, 
but  of  a  kind  fashioned  by  an  artist  who  makes  no  mistakes,  and  never 
fails  to  please  the  most  fastidious  and  artistic. 

The  remainder  of  our  magnificent  forests,  and  much  the  larger  part, 
continues  to  wear  its  mantle  of  green,  not  only  during  the  springtime 
and  in  the  summer  days,  but  defies  the  frosty  fall  season  and  the  zero 
weather  of  the  wintry  days.  The  tree  has  ever  been  the  symbol  of  life, 
strength,  beauty,  and  of  rest,  and  the  eye  of  man  cannot  continue  to 
look,  day  after  day,  upon  these  stately  God-given  queens  of  nature 
without  their  beauty  being  reflected  in  his  life,  making  him  a  healthier, 
happier,  and  a  better  man;  and  their  destruction  means  not  only  the 
removal  of  one  of  our  most  desirable  natural  resources,  from  a  practical 
and  utilitarian  standpoint,  but  from  the  viewpoint  of  health,  morality, 
spirituality,  and  beauty,  their  loss  would  be  without  remedy.    [Applause] 

There  is  much  more  that  might  be  said  on  the  esthetic  side  of  this 
subject,  but  I  refrain  and  pass  on  to  the  practical  side. 

I  want  to  lay  down,  first,  the  broad  proposition  that,  aside  from  the 
soil  itself,  no  other  natural  resource  compares  with  our  forests.  Can  you 
think  of  one  that  comes  so  nearly  supplying  every  want  of  man?  From 
the  tender,  touching  song  we  hear  "There  is  no  place  like  home" — that 
place  so  sacred  to  every  one  worthy  to  wear  the  title  of  man — and  we 
know  that  there  is  no  other  resource  under  the  sun  that  supplies  so  many 
homes  in  every  essential  as  does  the  tree,  especially  as  applied  to  the 
large  majority  of  our  people,  those  whose  labors  go  hand  in  hand  with 
the  prosperity  of  our  nation. 

However  crude  the  workman,  with  only  an  ax  for  his  tool,  he  may  go 
into  the  forest  and  build  a  comfortable  home  in  which  to  live.  The 
leaves  and  bark  of  the  tree  may  be  converted  into  clothing  for  his  body, 
and  the  nuts  and  fruits  give  him  sustenance.  Look  within  the  house, 
be  it  shanty  or  mansion,  and  the  furniture  will  remind  you  of  this  natural 

Miirce. 

The  ties  supporting  the  great  railway  systems  of  this  country,  and 
nearly  all  the  buildings  connected  therewith,  are  of  its  product. 

The  mines  of  coal,  copper,  gold,  silver — yea,  all  minerals  from  the 
cheapest  to  the  dearest,  require  its  use  for  their  production  and  our 
satisfaction. 

We  are  using  not  less  than  one  hundred  and  sixty-live  million  cubic 
feet  annually  in  this  direction. 

(84) 


Address  by  R.  A.  Long 


What  of  the  millions  and  millions  of  tons  of  paper  on  which  is  printed 
the  news  by  our  great  daily  newspapers,  making  it  possible  for  even  the 
poorest  inhabitants  of  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  to  keep  posted  as  to 
the  daily  happenings  of  the  world? 

It  is  claimed,  and  I  believe  truthfully,  that  at  least  99%  of  the  products 
of  our  forests  are  used  for  practical  and  useful  purposes;  yet  of  the  total 
quantity  of  these  products  but  a  small  fraction  is  actually  utilized, 
probably  three-quarters  going  to  waste. 

It  is  conceded  also  that  forests  aid  much  in  the  utilization  of  our 
rainfall,  as  the  leaves  and  branches  of  trees  and  the  accumulation  of 
humus  and  leaf-mould  resist  the  compacting  effect  of  the  rain  drops, 
and  hence  the  soil  is  kept  loose,  allowing  the  water  to  readily  percolate. 
This  covering  of  loose  litter,  twigs,  etc.,  absorbs  and  holds  back  the 
precipitation,  preventing  its  disappearing  rapidly  by  surface  drainage, 
goes  largely  into  the  ground,  and  as  a  subsoil  or  underground  drainage 
reappears  in  the  form  of  springs,  which  being  gradually  fed  by  perco- 
lation from  above,  themselves  feed  rivulets  or  streams  of  perennial 
character.  The  snows  of  winter  melt  more  gradually  in  forest-covered 
areas,  giving  more  time  for  the  water  resulting  therefrom  to  soak  into 
the  ground  and  pass  off  through  the  springs.  The  streams  fed  from 
such  sources  have  a  continuous  supply  to  be  used  for  irrigation  or  such 
other  purposes  as  man  may  require. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  the  forest  lands  have  been  denuded,  the 
rainfall  passes  rapidly  away,  and  its  resulting  effect  is  not  long  felt  or 
seen  excepting  by  the  filling  of  the  channels  of  the  stream  by  silt,  sand,  and 
gravel  washed  from  above,  and  the  result  of  the  waters  having  spread 
over  the  adjacent  low  lands,  destroying  crops,  improvements,  live  stock, 
and  sometimes  even  the  lives  of  the  inhabitants.  It  is  not  unusual  in 
some  sections  for  the  fertile  valley  lands  to  be  destroyed  by  gravel, 
stones  and  debris  carried  and  deposited  by  the  waters. 

Water  power  exerted  through  electrical  energy,  and  in  operation  in  so 
many  industries,  is  impossible  without  constant  and  uniform  water 
supply,  and  this  cannot  be  had  except  along  streams  whose  head  waters 
have  an  adequate  protection  of  forest  covering;  otherwise,  the  erosion 
of  the  soil  soon  fills  the  reservoirs,  and  waters  running  unobstructed  on 
the  surface,  converge  in  great  torrents,  carrying  logs  and  debris  of  all 
kinds,  surging  irresistibly  through  the  river  valleys,  taking  with  it  dams, 
gates,  power  plants  and  destroying  what  it  cannot  carry  away. 

Originally  the  rivers  and  even  the  rather  small  water  courses  of  our 
country  w7ere  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  navigable.  Their  channels  were 
deep,  their  waters  mostly  clear  and  free  from  sediment  and  silt.  At  the 
present  time,  owing  to  the  deforestation  of  the  lands  along  their  banks, 
and  especially  of  their  head  waters,  the  breaking  up  of  the  sod  and  the 


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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


loosening  of  the  soil  consequent  upon  settlement  and  cultivation  of 
crops,  these  channels  formerly  deep,  have  been  in  some  instances  entirely 
filled,  and  everywhere  rendered  more  shallow,  until  water  transportation 
has  ceased  and  river  navigation  has  become  almost  obsolete  on  rivers 
which  were  once  teeming  with  commerce. 

Our  Government  is  at  great  annual  expense  in  the  construction  of 
levees,  dikes,  jetties  and  other  devices  to  prevent  the  destructive  over- 
flows, and  in  dredging  and  deepening  the  channels  in  order  that  sufficient 
depth  of  water  may  be  obtained  and  preserved  to  encourage  the  re- 
establishment  and  preservation  of  our  waterway  navigation,  so  that 
means  of  transportation,  competitive  with  and  supplemental  to  that 
furnished  by  our  railroads  may  be  had;  a  substantial  proportion  of  the 
money  and  energy  thus  expended,  if  used  in  the  preservation  of  our 
forests,  would  materially  better  conditions  in  this  regard. 

The  western  half  of  the  United  States  contains  enough  fertile  land, 
now  barren  and  unprofitable,  only  because  of  insufficient  moisture,  to 
support  under  adequate  irrigation  a  population  of  probably  fifty  million 
people;  further  than  this,  as  it  has  been  truly  said,  such  population  in 
the  West  would  support  a  like  additional  population  in  the  manufactur- 
ing districts  of  the  East,  and  the  two  would  support  another  large  popu- 
lation engaged  in  the  transportation  and  distribution  of  the  commodities 
of  commerce  between  them. 

The  possibility  of  such  irrigation  depends  largely  on  the  preservation 
of  the  forest  cover  of  the  mountains,  which  catches  and  holds  the  melting 
snows,  and  thus  forms  the  great  storage  reservoirs  of  nature. 

We  have  been  for  many  years,  and  are  now,  using  all  our  resources  of 
diplomacy,  and  even  almost  threatening  at  times  to  reinforce  it,  if  neces- 
sarv,  by  our  naval  and  military  strength,  to  maintain  an  "open  door" 
in  the  Far  East  for  the  benefit  of  our  commerce,  while  at  the  same  time 
we  have  only  dimily  realized  the  possibilities  of  building  up  an  empire  in 
our  midst,  whose  yearly  requirements  of  the  commodities  of  commerce 
would  equal  the  requirements  of  an  equal  number  of  inhabitants  of  the 
Far  East  for  a  generation,  and  the  annual  purchasing  power  of  whose 
productive  activities  would  amount  to  more  than  all  the  goods  we  could 
ho;  11  through  the  "open  door"  in  possibly  more  than  a  quarter  of 

a  century. 

We  have  it  upon  the  authority  of  the  Holy  Writ,  that  a  thousand 
ore  Christ  (he-  eastern  shore  of  the  Mediterranean  was  the  seat 
of  large  cities  having  an  extensive  maritime  commerce.  The  mountain 
region  bordering  cast  and  west,  extending  for  many  miles  inland,  was 
■ith  a  dense  forest,  comprising  the  cedar  of  Lebanon,  the  fir 
and  the  sandal  wood,  covering  an  area  of  3,500  square  miles.  The  inhabi- 
tant, of  Sidon  wen    largely  engaged  in  cutting,  hewing  and  shipping 


Address  by  R.  A.  Long 


timbers  from  the  forests  of  Lebanon,  and  the  seat  of  Sidon  was  a  great 
lumber  market,  and  its  citizens  skilled  ax-men. 

The  cities  of  Tyre  and  Sidon  were  largely  constructed  of  wood;  their 
ships  built  of  cedar,  the  masts  of  fir,  and  oars  of  oak.  Solomon  procured 
all  of  the  timbers  used  in  the  construction  of  the  Temple,  as  well  as  in 
other  buildings,  from  the  forests  of  Lebanon  by  a  contract  therefor  with 
Hiram,  King  of  Tyre,  in  whose  dominion  they  lay,  and  he  supplied  eighty 
thousand  laborers  to  assist  in  cutting  and  hewing  the  trees.  The  timber 
was  loaded  into  ships  and  conveyed  to  Joppa,  thence  by  land  to  Jeru- 
salem. The  region  about  Jerusalem  was  fertile,  and  Solomon  provisioned 
more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men  for  a  period  of  perhaps 
twenty  years,  and  supplied  Hiram  with  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
measures  of  wheat,  with  as  much  barley,  besides  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  gallons  of  wine,  and  a  like  quantity  of  oil  annually,  from  which 
we  must  understand  the  country  was  rich  and  productive.  These  forests 
have  all  been  destroyed,  with  no  renewal  thereof,  and  with  their  destruc- 
tion disappeared  the  fertile  soil.  The  rain-bearing  clouds  still  float  above 
the  mountains  of  Syria;  but  they  pass  on  over  the  bare  and  heated  rocks, 
and  the  brooks  and  small  streams  of  Palestine  no  longer  exist,  and 
throughout  Syria  stone  furnishes  the  only  material  for  building,  and 
wood  is  as  precious  as  silver. 

May  it  not  be  true  that  the  destruction  of  Tyre  and  Sidon  was  in  great 
part  in  consequence  of  the  destruction  of  these  forests,  which  has  rendered 
that  country  a  barren  desert,  supplying  a  scanty  sustenance  to  the  sparse 
population— its  beauty,  its  fertility,  its  usefulness  gone?  So  the  physical 
geographers  assure  us. 

In  "Sinai  and  Palestine,"  by  Dean  Stanley,  an  authoratitive  record, 
appears  the  following:  "The  countless  ruins  of  Palestine,  of  whatever 
date  they  may  be,  tell  us  at  a  glance  that  we  must  not  judge  the  resources 
of  the  ancient  land  by  its  present  depressed  and  desolate  state.  They 
show  us,  not  only  that  'Syria  might  support  tenfold  its  present  popula- 
tion, and  bring  forth  tenfold  its  present  product,'  but  that  it  actually  did 
so.  And  this  brings  us  to  the  question  which  eastern  travelers  so  often 
ask,  and  are  asked  on  their  return,  'Can  these  stony  hills,  these  deserted 
valleys,  be  indeed  the  Land  of  Promise,  the  land  flowing  with  milk  and 
honey?"' 

The  effect  and  influence  of  forests  on  the  climate,  health  and  water 
conditions  of  the  country  is  evidenced  by  the  chronicles  of  the  Mosaic, 
the  Roman  and  the  Greek  writers,  and  many  of  their  far-seeing  priests 
prevented  the  destruction  of  the  forests.  The  consecration  of  groves  to 
religious  uses  and  to  various  mythological  rites  connected  with  them  is 
an  evidence  of  the  reverence  the  ancients  had  for  forests.  Homer  calls 
the  mountain  woodlands  the  "habitations  of  the  gods,  in  which   the 


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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

mortals  never  felled  the  trees,  but  where  they  fell  from  age  when  their 
time  had  come;"  and  in  his  "Tree  and  Woodland  Nymphs,"  originating 
in  springs,  he  suggests  the  intimate  relation  of  forests  and  springs. 

Aristotle,  in  his  "National  Economy,"  points  out  that  an  assured 
supply  of  accessible  wood  material  is  one  of  the  "necessary  conditions  of 
the  existence  of  a  city." 

Plato  writes  that  the  consequences  of  deforestation  is  the  "sickening 
of  the  country."  Cicero,  in  one  of  his  philippics,  designates  those  engaged 
in  forest  devestation  as  the  enemies  of  the  public  interests. 

Mesopotamia,  one  of  the  most  sterile  coutries  in  the  East,  was  once 
praised  on  account  of  its  fertility,  where,  according  to  Herodotus,  "the 
culture  of  the  grape  could  not  succeed  on  account  of  the  moisture;"  and 
the  Euphrates  River,  once  the  source  of  an  ample  water  supply,  is 
swallowed  up  in  this  desert. 

Greece  shows  the  progress  of  a  similar  decadence.  Sicily,  the  never- 
failing  granary  of  the  Roman  Empire  while  it  was  well  wooded,  is  now 
entirely  deforested  and  crop  failures  are  the  rule.  Caesar  and  other 
Roman  writers  describe  the  "vast  forests"  throughout  the  entire  terri- 
tory. Since  then,  thousands  of  square  miles  have  been  deforested. 
Many  countries,  where  the  destruction  has  been  most  reckless,  have  taken 
systematic  measures  to  control  the  destruction  and  secure  the  reproduc- 
tion of  exhausted  areas.  To  this  they  have  been  driven,  not  only  by  the 
lack  of  timber  and  fuel,  but  also  by  the  prejudicial  effects  exerted  upon 
the  climate  and  the  irrigation  of  the  country  by  this  denudation. 

In  Denmark  much  of  the  woods,  which  at  one  time  covered  nearly  the 
whole  country,  having  been  cut  down  to  make  way  for  agriculture  and  to 
supply  fuel  and  timber,  the  vast  area  thus  bared  has  become  a  sandy 
desert.  Parts  of  Bohemia,  Hungary,  and  Austria  have  been  rendered 
practically  valueless  because  the  growing  forests  were  destroyed. 

In  France,  the  frequent  inundations  of  the  last  fifty  years  were  caused, 
as  is  stated  by  writers,  by  the  deforesting  of  the  sources  of  the  Rhone  and 
the  Saone.  Since  that  time,  thousands  of  acres  are  annually  planted, 
and  where  the  forests  have  been  restored,  the  conditions  have  changed 
for  the  better. 

In  the  American  Forest  Congress,  in  1905,  the  Honorable  John  Lamb 
quoted  the  following  from  Bernard  Palissy,  which  is  so  pregnant  of  truth 
that  it  will  bear  repeating:  "For  when  the  forests  shall  be  cut  all  arts 
shall  cease  and  they  who  practice  them  shall  be  driven  out  to  eat  grass 
with  Nebuchadnezzar  and  the  beasts  of  the  held.  I  have  at  divers  times 
thought  to  set  down  in  writing  the  arts  that  would  perish  when  there 
shall  be  no  more  wood,  but  when  I  had  written  down  a  great  number,  I 
did  perceive  that  there  will  be  no  end  of  my  writing,  and  having  diligently 
considered,  I  found  that  there  was  not  any  which  could  be  followed  with- 

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Address  by  R.  A.  Long 


out  wood,  and  I  could  well  allege  a  thousand  reasons,  but  it  is  so  cheap  a 
philosophy  that  the  very  chamber  wenches  if  they  do  but  think  may  see 
that  without  wood  it  is  not  possible  to  exercise  any  manner  of  human  art 
or  cunning." 

China  has  paid  absolutely  no  attention  to  the  preservation  of  her  for- 
ests; hardly  a  twig  left  in  what  was  once  her  great  forest  fields,  while 
Japan,  close  by,  has  59%  of  her  total  area  under  forests,  and  the  Govern- 
ment has  reserved  under  its  control  a  very  large  part  of  the  whole.  Com- 
pare the  conditions  of  these  two  countries,  side  by  side,  and  draw  your 
own  conclusions.  While  practically  all  other  countries  are  effectually 
practising  forestry,  none  of  them  I  believe,  save  Sweden  and  Russia,  fore- 
saw the  difficulties  toward  which  they  were  drifting — at  least,  made  any 
effort  to  provide  against  them  until  they  found  themselves  importing 
lumber  in  great  quantities. 

One  nation,  Germany,  paid  out  in  a  single  year  eighty  million  dollars, 
and  still  their  timber  reserves  are  being  depleted  at  a  rapid  rate.  Realiz- 
ing into  what  condition  she  was  drifting,  she  set  at  work  to  remedy  the 
evil,  and  today  is  in  the  forefront  in  working  out  this  great  problem,  and 
it  is  said  not  many  years  will  elapse  before  she  will  be  producing  an  annual 
crop  equal  to  her  consumption.  This  is  most  commendable,  but  it  would 
have  been  much  less  expensive  and  more  businesslike  had  she  have  exer- 
cised the  same  judgment  and  forethought  in  the  manner  our  leading  busi- 
ness men  make  use  of  in  handling  the  problems  affecting  their  interests 
today.  As  is  usually  true,  those  spending  the  most  money  in  the  devel- 
opment of  an  industry  obtain  the  best  net  results.  To  illustrate,  Ger- 
many and  France  are  spending  about  $11,000,000  a  year  and  reaping 
$30,000,000  net;  while  we,  last  year,  spent  $1,400,000,  receiving 
$130,000.° 

Considering  all  of  the  above,  coupled  with  the  fact  that  from  the  view- 
point of  the  value  of  annual  production,  it  stands  as  the  fourth  greatest 
industry  in  the  United  States,  being  exceeded  only  by  food  and  kindred 
products,  the  annual  value  of  which  is  $2,845,234,900;  textiles, 
$2,147,441,418;  iron  and  steel  and  their  products,  $2,176,739,726;  lum- 
ber coming  fourth  with  an  annual  value  of  $1,223,730,336,  which  pays 
annually  in  wages  about  one  hundred  million  dollars,  providing  an 
income  and  living  for  something  like  two  millions  of  our  people.  Can  it 
be  passed  lightly  by  without  bringing  the  censure  of  the  generation  that 
will  live  after  us,  upon  our  heads? 

But  need  we  say  more  of  the  important  part  forests  play  in  the  affairs 
of  our  country,  or  what  bearing  they  have  had  and  are  having  on  the 
nations  of  the  world?     It  seems  to  me  we  should  determine,  if  we  can, 


«A  very  thorough  exposition  of  this  subject  has  been  made  by  Mr  Treachvell  Cleve- 
land, Jr.,  in  Circular  No.  140  of  the  Forest  Service,  and  I  urge  its  careful  reading. 

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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


the  life  of  our  forests  under  existing  conditions,  and  upon  the  course  nec- 
essary to  their  perpetuation. 

In  January,  1903,  I  prepared  a  paper  on  the  subject  of  stumpage,  to 
be  read  at  a  convention  of  lumbermen.  I  spent  a  vast  deal  of  time  in 
gathering  the  data  necessary  to  its  preparation;  I  took  into  account  only 
the  white  and  Norway  pine  of  the  Lake  States,  the  yellow  pine  of  the 
South,  and  the  timber  growing  in  the  States  of  Oregon,  Washington  and 
California,  as  they  were  the  only  woods  entering  in  any  large  way  into 
the  lumber  supply  of  this  country,  calculating  that  long  before  any  of 
the  woods  in  question  had  been  exhausted  practically  all  other  woods  in 
our  nation  would  have  largely  passed  out  of  use. 

My  investigation  led  me  to  make  a  statement  that  the  timber  in  the 
Lake  States  would  not  exceed  sixty  billion  feet ;  that  within  ten  years  it 
would  probably  play  no  larger  part  in  the  lumber  supply  of  this  country 
than  did  poplar  at  that  time.  I  see  no  reason  to  change  that  state- 
ment unless  the  effects  following  our  recent  panic,  which  are  very  depress- 
ing on  the  lumber  industry,  should  continue  longer  than  is  now  expected. 

As  to  the  life  of  the  southern  yellow  pine,  I  gave  it  as  my  belief,  that 
eighteen  years  would  find  it  cutting  no  great  figure  in  our  lumber  supply. 
I  am  more  convinced  of  the  correctness  of  this  statement  now  than  I  was 
then.  Adding  the  white  pine,  yellow  pine,  and  Pacific  Coast  products 
together,  my  estimate  was  that  the  life  for  all  was  forty-one  years.  I  am 
not  so  sure  as  to  the  amount  of  timber  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  but  I  do  not 
believe  the  total  life  of  all  will  vary  to  exceed  five  years  from  the  date 
indicated. 

Some  calculate  that  substitutes,  such  as  cement,  will  likely  curtail  the 
demands  for  lumber;  judging  from  the  experience  of  other  countries,  it 
will  not.  Even  in  England,  where  nearly  all  of  the  lumber  used  is  im- 
ported, their  lumber  consumption  per  capita  is  increasing  at  the  rate  of 
five  per  cent  per  annum.  In  France  and  this  country  it  is  increasing  at 
the  rate  of  10%  per  capita.  But  why  speculate  on  our  timber  supply,  a 
question  of  such  great  importance  to  this  nation,  when  definite  informa- 
tion  can  be  had?  It  is  unlike  any  of  our  other  natural  resources.  It  all 
Stands  above  the  ground  and  can  be  estimated  with  great  accuracy. 
Men  and  money  are  the  only  means  necessary  for  securing  this  valuable 
infoi  mi!  io 11.  Tin-  former  can  be  had  by  supplying  the  latter.  Should  a 
nation  as  rich  as  ours  hesitate  to  furnish  the  means  required  for  informa- 
tion of  such  great  vain 

My  plan  would  be  to  take  our  timber  areas,  and,  working  them  by 
counties,  parishes  or  townships,  make  a  complete  estimate,  as  if  a  pur- 
chase  was  to  be  made;  where  the  timber  was  practically  the-  same  in  sev- 
eral counties,  townships,  or  parishes,  near  each  other,  a  careful  estimate 

of  one,  and  a  reckoning  of  others  on  the  same  basis,  would  be  sufficiently 

(go) 


Address  by  R.  A.  Long 


accurate  for  all  purposes.  This  would  give  us  a  correct  basis  to  start 
with,  and  from  which  intelligent  statements  could  be  made  in  the  future. 
The  owner  of  a  given  piece  of  property  is  controlled,  as  to  retention  or 
disposition,  largely  by  the  net  results  that  may  be  obtained  at  different 
periods.  Carrying  charges,  or  the  expense  incident  to  holding  a  com- 
modity or  article  of  commerce,  enter  very  largely  into  such  calculations. 
Taxes  constitute  a  large  part  of  such  charges,  and  have  no  little  bearing 
on  the  subject  under  consideration.  Instead  of  timber  lands  being  fa- 
vored in  order  to  encourage  their  conservation,  not  only  for  the  benefit  of 
the  owner,  but  for  the  use  of  generations  yet  unborn,  they  are  not  given 
an  even  chance  with  other  properties. 

The  crop  of  the  farmer  is  taxed  when  it  is  ready  for  the  market,  and 
no  crop  is  taxed  more  than  once.  A  crop  of  timber  is  taxed  continuously 
and  annually  until  disposed  of.  The  farmer's  crop  matures  yearly;  the 
crop  of  the  timber  owner  matures  once  in  about  a  hundred  years. 

Let  us  illustrate:  As  the  value  of  the  timber  is  less  in  its  earlier  years 
than  when  matured,  we  will  use  fifty  years  as  the  average  life,  basing  the 
value  on  the  matured  product.  Rice,  cotton  and  sugar  lands  in  some 
sections  of  the  South,  in  close  proximity  to  timber  lands,  are  assessed  at 
about  the  same  prices  as  timber  lands.  The  rice,  cotton  and  sugar  lands 
net  the  owner  at  least  $7.50  an  acre  annually  after  paying  taxes  and  all 
other  expenses.  In  fifty  years  the  owner  would  get  $375.00  off  of  each 
acre  of  his  land,  besides  obtaining  enough  annually  to  pay  his  taxes; 
the  land  itself  being  worth  $50.00  per  acre,  making  a  total  of  $425.00,' 
plus  the  interest  on  the  money  made  annually,  while  the  timber  owner 
could  not  get  more  than  $120.00  per  acre  in  the  gathering  of  his  entire 
matured  crop,  after  spending  a  goodly  fortune  in  building  a  plant  pre- 
paratory to  its  harvest.  Again,  the  cut-over  lands  are  taxed  practically 
their  full  value,  thereby  making  it  burdensome  to  carry  them,  much 
less  to  spend  anything  on  them  for  the  purpose  of  reforestation. 

The  effect  of  such  laws  is  shown  in  the  state  of  Michigan,  where  over 
six  million  acres  have  reverted  to  the  state.  A  like  condition,  to  a  lesser 
extent,  exists  in  other  states.  I  find  the  Constitutions  of  several  States 
permit  them  to  exempt  such  properties  from  taxation;  others  permit 
them  to  classify;  others  to  either  exempt  or  classify. 

And  now  we  come  to  the  vital  point  of  the  subject,  namely:  the  con- 
servation and  perpetuation  of  this  great  resource.  In  dealing  with  this 
subject  as  it  now  presents  itself  to  us,  it  becomes  necessarv  to  dwell  on 
some"  features  that  directly  and  immediately  affect  the  interests  of  the 
timber  owners.  Belonging  to  that  class,  we  would  refer  to  these  features 
with  some  embarrassment,  did  we  not  feel  it  had  been  our  purpose,  in 
preparing  these  thoughts  for  your  consideration,  to  treat  them  on  broader 
and  more  patriotic  lines  than  any  exclusively  selfish  idea  would  permit; 

(90 
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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


besides,  we  believe  the  thoughts  presented  will  appeal  to  you  as  eminently 
fair  and  correct,  and  will  of  themselves  prevent  your  ascribing  to  us  a 
selfish  motive. 

I  want  to  give  especial  emphasis  to  the  statement  that  conservation 
and  perpetuation  of  our  forests  and  unremunerative  prices  for  lumber 
cannot  travel  the  same  road,  for  conservation  means  to  handle,  to  treat, 
to  take  care  of,  and  save  in  such  maimer  as  to  retain  the  use  or  benefit 
of  a  given  product  as  long  as  possible.  Perpetuation  of  forests  means  to 
so  exploit  the  forests  as  to  make  them  continuous  and  perpetual,  which 
can  onlv  be  done  by  spending  money  continuously  in  planting,  seeding, 
protecting,  etc.,  while  low  prices  oj  any  commodity  means  neglect  and  -waste. 
This  cannot  be  more  forcibly  illustrated  than  by  the  conditions  existing 
today,  as  applied  to  lumber;  on  account  of  the  low  prices  now  prevailing, 
the  logs  making  low  grade  lumber,  secured  principally  from  that  portion 
of  the  tree  approaching  the  limbs,  and  constituting  at  least  20%  of  the 
forests,  are  left  in  the  woods  to  rot  or  be  burned,  because  the  lumbermen 
would  no  more  think  of  using  the  raw  material  out  of  which  he  could 
not  obtain  cost,  than  the  farmer  would  harvest  a  crop  of  faulty  corn  out 
of  which  he  could  not  obtain  the  cost  of  gathering. 

This  leaving  of  2o9I  °f  our  l°»s  m  the  woods, — as  applied  to  the  yellow 
pine  industry  alone, — if  we  market  as  much  lumber  this  year  as  last, 
means  that  we  will  have  wasted  over  300,000  acres  of  forest  land,  and  so, 
in  order  that  the  product  of  these  low  grade  logs  may  take  their  place  in 
the  lumber  supply  of  the  world,  and  our  timber  saved  or  conserved,  the 
manufacturer  must  at  least  have  cost  for  his  low  grade  lumber,  which 
means  a  comparatively  better  price  for  the  better  grade;  and  this  need 
not  necessarily  mean  high  priced  lumber,  but  the  price  must  be  removed 
materially  from  the  prices  now  prevailing,  and  such  as  we  touch  period- 
ically, even  in  normally  good  times;  for  lumber  is  like  every  other  product, 
controlled  by  supply  and  demand,  and  if  we  build  mills  with  sufficient 
capacity  to  supply  the  demand  of  the  country  in  times  of  extreme 
activity,  such  as  we  had  iii  1906'and  the  first  two-thirds  of  1907,  we 
shall  have  capacity  beyond  our  requirements  in  normal  times,  and  under 
Buch  conditions  down  go  the  prices. 

<  m  account  of  such  varying  and  unstable  conditions,  it  will  be  found 

difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  get  the  timber  owner  to  enter  actively  into 

the  methods  required  for  the  perpetuation  of  the  forests  by  spending 

;i  the  minimum  required,  which  I  understand  to  be  about  fifty  cents 

,ixl.      While   this    does   not   seem   a   large   amount,    then'   are 

making  as  much  a    1  no  hundred  and  fifty  million  feet  of  lumber 

annum,  and  hence  i<>  these,  the  cost  of  this  item  would  be  $125,000 

annum.     It'  his  or  its  competitor  was  pursuing  the  same  practice,  all 

■ild  be  well;  if  not,  he  would,  for  the  immediate  present,  be  oul  that 


Address  by  R.  A.  Long 


much  more  money  than  his  competitor,  and  during  dull  periods,  such  as 
now,  when  prices  were  close  to  the  cost  line,  even  for  the  better  grades  of 
lumber,  he  would  hardly  feel  disposed  to  contract  for  such  an  outlay. 

The  Government  only  owning  about  22%  of  our  forest  area,  cannot 
alone,  to  any  great  degree,  effect  what  we  are  seeking  in  this  Conference, 
so  far  as  forests  are  concerned.  It  might  however,  accomplish  the 
purpose  in  one  of  the  following  ways : 

First.  The  Government  could,  by  a  contractual  relation  with  the 
owners  of  the  forests  where  lumbering  operations  are  now  being  carried 
on  (which  constitute  at  least  eighty  per  cent  of  the  timber  holdings  of  the 
United  States)  provide  that  conservation  and  reforestation  should  be 
practiced  under  rules  prescribed  by  the  Forest  Service,  and  assess  the 
cost  thereof  against  the  timber  lands  proportionately.  These  rules 
should  provide  that  the  lumbering  operations,  so  far  as  conservation 
and  reforestation  were  concerned,  should  be  conducted  under  govern- 
mental control;  that  no  more  timber  should  be  cut  than  was  necessary 
to  supply  the  current  demands,  thus  maintaining  such  uniformity  of 
prices  as  would  justify  the  operator  to  utilize  every  log  the  tree  would 
produce;  that  only  trees  of  a  certain  size  should  be  cut;  that  seed  trees, 
properly  distributed,  should  be  left;  that  the  young  growth  should  be 
protected  from  fires  and  other  elements  of  destruction,  and  it  would 
seem  clear  that  the  establishment  of  such  a  relationship  would  certainly 
accomplish  this  highly  desired  object. 

Second.  A  plan  might  be  worked  out  jointly  between  the  owners  of 
the  timber  lands,  and  the  Government,  by  which  conservation  and  refor- 
estation would  be  practiced  along  such  lines  as  the  Government  might  lay 
down,  as  outlined  above,  and  the  timber  owners  be  protected  in  the  prices 
of  all  lands  cut  over  and  handled  under  the  conditions  prescribed. 

Whatever  plan  is  adopted  must  furnish  an  incentive,  a  substantial 
inducement  to  the  timber  owner,  to  forego  a  present  gain  for  the  public 
good,  and  in  this  matter  it  can  only  be  accomplished  by  governmental 
cooperation.  And  what  is  done  should  be  done  quickly,  for  the  time  is 
fast  approaching  when  our  forests  will  be  so  nearly  gone  that  it  will  be 
too  late. 

Will  the  Government  avail  itself  of  this  golden  opportunity  to  lend  its 
aid  to  the  conservation  of  this  splendid  natural  resource,  in  order  to  supply 
the  timber  for  future  generations;  be  wise  and  patriotic  enough  to  pro- 
vide for  the  inevitable  result  that  must  occur  before  the  middle  of  the 
twentieth  century,  and  thereby  perform  the  true  function  of  all  good 
governments  in  the  promotion  of  the  health,  wealth,  and  prosperity  of 
the  people?  Or,  with  climatic  changes  following  the  destruction  of  our 
forests,  shall  manufacture  die  with  them,  and  commerce  fail  as  a  natural 
result  of  agricultural  and  manufacturing  decadence? 


(93) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

Disclaiming  all  partisan  or  political  references,  and  speaking  only  of 
economic  conditions  as  we  find  them,  I  do  not  think  I  should  neglect  to 
say  that  the  present  demoralizing  conditions  existing  in  our  commercial 
and  manufacturing  life,  and  the  consequent  waste  and  loss  incident 
thereto,  and  especially  incident  to  the  wasteful  destruction  of  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  acres  of  timber  annually  is,  in  my  judgment,  due  largely 
to  the  pernicious  effect  of  that  class  of  legislation  which,  by  its  applica- 
tion, has  placed  an  absolute  prohibition  on  every  form  of  agreement 
looking  to  conservation;  has  placed  a  ban  upon  all  meetings  and  discus- 
sions having  for  their  object  the  adoption  of  the  most  salutary  measures 
for  the  preservation  of  this  natural  resource,  and  the  instant  and  unfair 
denunciation  of  every  meeting  of  the  so-called  "Lumber  Trust,"  which 
does  not  and  never  did  exist ;  has  produced  such  a  condition  of  mind 
among  lumbermen,  that  they  feel  that  they  can  no  longer  meet  together 
for  the  general  discussion  of  matters  so  vitally  affecting  their  interests 
and  the  welfare  of  this  Nation,  without  subjecting  themselves  to  the 
humiliation  of  a  prosecution.  This  condition  in  the  lumber  business  has 
led  to  the  reduction  of  the  wage  scale  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  men, 
affecting  many  millions  of  people;  it  has  left  twenty  per  cent  of  the  timber 
in  the  forest  to  waste;  and  unless  we  have  relief,  these  evils  will  increase 
and  others  will  follow  in  their  wake. 

Compulsory  competition  is  our  present  commercial  nightmare.  Such 
competition  is  not  healthy  but  disastrous,  and  serves  only,  in  the  end, 
to  create  the  most  pernicious  monopoly  by  destroying  all  competition, — 
it  means  the  survival  of  the  strongest  and  not  the  ''fittest." 

Is  it  not  sufficient  for  all  that  our  resources  should  be  conserved  and 
saved  for  all  generations;  is  it  right  or  just  that  a  great  industry  should 
suffer,  and  generations  to  live  hereafter  be  deprived  of  an  adequate  sup- 
ply of  lumber,  in  order  that  a  prejudice  be  vindicated,  and  theconsumer 
of  today  buy  his  lumber  at  less  than  cost? 

And  in  this  connection,  it  may  be  well  to  say  that  a  reduction  of  our 
tariff  on  lumber  would  at  once  bring  us  into  direct  and  disastrous  com- 
petition with  lumber  from  Canada,  where  stumpage  is  cheaper  and  wages 
lower,  and  where  the  consequent  tendency  toward  wastefulness  necessi- 
tate- corresponding  disregard  on  our  part.  Waste  is  loss,  and  adds  noth- 
ing to  consumption.  We  want  greater  consumption,  but  we  should 
con  and  reproduce,  not  waste. 

The  part  played  by  the  United  States  Steel  Corporation  since  its  organi- 
zation, in  the  maintenance  of  staple  prices,  while  obtaining  a  profit  and 
not  improperly  using  its  power,  is  a  most  substantial  demonstration  of 
the  salutary  effect  of  concentrated  control  of  any  commodity  in  the  inter- 
of  uniform  prices  and  conservatism,  without  injury  to  the  consumer 

or  harm  to  any  OIK 

(94) 


Address  by  R.  A.  Long 


The  American  people  have  common  sense,  are  patriotic  and  fair  and 
a  full  understanding  of  the  real  conditions  confronting  us,  will  appeal  to 
their  good  sense  and  sentiment,  and  they  will  support  any  measure  of 
true  relief. 

And  now,  Mr  President,  before  closing,  I  want  to  say  again,  aside  from 
the  soil  itself,  this  is  the  most  important  natural  resource  at  the  com- 
mand of  the  American  people  today.  It  has  its  most  intensely  practical 
side,  but  is  not  by  any  means  devoid  of  its  sentimental  side,  the  absence 
of  which  from  human  breast  leaves  one  devoid  of  one  of  the  most  beauti- 
ful attributes  of  human  kind.  One  that  possesses  this  finer  nature  has 
said: 

"A  tree  is  one  of  nature's  words,  a  word  of  peace  to  man; 
A  word  that  tells  of  central  strength  from  whence  all  things  began; 
A  word  to  preach  tranquillity  to  all  our  restless  clan." 

"Ah,  bare  must  be  the  shadeless  ways,  and  bleak  the  path  must  be, 
Of  him  who,  having  open  eyes,  has  never  learned  to  see, 
And  so  has  never  learned  to  love  the  beauty  of  a  tree." 

"Who  loves  a  tree,  he  loves  the  life  that  springs  in  star  and  clod, 
He  loves  the  love  that  gilds  the  clouds,  and  greens  the  April  sod! 
He  loves  the  Wide  Beneficence;  his  soul  takes  hold  on  God." 

I  am  happy  in  the  thought  of  this  Conference  for  the  purpose  of  dis- 
cussing this  and  kindred  subjects,  and  shall  hope  that  we  may  not  rest 
satisfied  in  the  thought  that  there  is  plenty  for  our  dav  and  generation 
for  such  a  thought  means  selfishness;  selfishness  means  littleness.  Any- 
thing that  is  small  is  prescribed  by  a  very  limited  circle;  and  I  venture 
the  statement,  that  there  is  no  place  of  comfort  or  happiness  in  the  uni- 
verse of  God  or  the  realm  of  man  for  such  an    individual. 


The  Presiding  Officer  (Governor  Johnson)  :  Before  opening  these 
matters  for  general  discussion,  I  have  been  requested  to  make  two 
announcements:  Several  of  the  Governors  and  their  advisors  have  not 
registered;  it  is  desired  that  they  should  register  at  the  proper  place 
It  also  appears  that  some  of  the  invitations  to  the  reception  this  even- 
ing at  Mr  Pinchofs  residence  may  have  miscarried;  if  anv  have  not 
received  them,  it  is  desired  that  they  communicate  with  the  Secretary 
when  the  invitations  will  be  delivered. 

The  papers  are  now  before  you  for  discussion.  Before  inviting  cren- 
eral  discussion  upon  these  matters,  I  wish  to  sav  that  the  Secretary  of 
Agriculture  is  on  the  stand,  and  I  am  quite  sure  the  Conference  will  be 
glad  to  hear  from  him.     [Applause  and  cries  of  "Wilson,"  "Wilson"] 


(95) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


Address  by  Honorable  James  Wilson 
secretary  of  agriculture 

Mr  President,  Gentlemen,  Governors: 

I  do  not  think  it  wise  for  me  to  say  anything  here.  I  have  been  filling 
up,  since  you  came  here,  and  learning;  and  really  you  should  do  the 
talking  and  give  us  instruction.  I  am  one  of  the  servants  of  the  People, 
anxious  to  know  what  is  best  to  be  done  for  the  general  good. 

The  paper  read  by  Mr  Hill  this  morning  made  a  very  deep  impression 
upon  me.  The  greatest  asset  we  have  in  the  United  States  is  our  .soil, 
and  we  are  destroying  that  as  promptly  as  we  can,  and  the  oldest  settled 
part  of  the  United  States  has  made  the  most  progress  in  the  destruction 
of  that  soil,  [laughter]  of  which  we  have  a  great  variety. 

Down  on  the  Gulf  coast  our  people  have  lived  longer  than  they  have 
in  the  upper  part  of  the  Mississippi  valley.  They  have  heavy  rainfalls 
down  there,  and  the  perpetual  cultivation  and  the  growing  of  hoed  crops, 
have  helped  erosion,  and  the  soil  down  there  has  been  destroyed  in  that 
way.  It  is  going  off  very,  very  rapidly.  The  remedy  is  a  system  of 
agriculture  that  will  keep  the  soil  filled  with  plant  food,  organic  matter, 
humus;  with  other  well  known  means.  That  is  the  cure;  that  is  the 
way  to  keep  up  the  soil.  Somebody  asked  an  English  gardener  how  he 
got  such  a  fine  lawn;  for  he  had  a  nice  grass  lawn  which  attracted  atten- 
tion. The  gardener  answered,  "We  wreeded,  and  weeded,  and  we 
manured,  and  manured,  for  a  matter  of  eight  hundred  years;"  and  that 
is  the  way  they  got  it.     [Laughter] 

Now,  jumping  from  one  part  of  the  United  States  to  another — because 
I  am  going  to  speak  but  a  very  few  minutes — the  people  in  the  grass 
belt  in  the  Mississippi  valley  have  ceased  to  grow  wheat  crops  to  as 
great  an  extent  as  they  do  in  some  other  parts  of  the  country.  They 
grow  grass;  they  are  compelled  to  grow  grass.  The  factory,  the  rail- 
road, the  mine  and  forest  have  taken  away  the  farm  help,  and  they  are 
not  able  to  compete  with  those  industries  in  hiring  men.  So  far  as  the 
poorer  land  is  concerned,  it  is  being  abandoned  and  is  going  back  to 
Nature;  and  Nature  is  good  to  it — if  you  give  her  time.  High  priced 
labor  results  in  rich  land  being  put  in  grass.  Anybody  in  studying 
wheat,  and  looking  into  one  of  those  States  that  at  one  time  grew  fifty 
million  bushels,  will  discover  now  that  they  grow  scarcely  any.  Why? 
It  does  not  pay.  Put  wheat  up  to  a  dollar  a  bushel,  and  the  State  of 
Iowa  will  grow  fifty  million  bushels  a  year.  They  will  plow  up  the 
pastures  and  grow  wheat.     That  is  where  the  remedy  lies. 

Tin  people  of  the  southern  States  were  not  able  to  indulge  in  cattle 
management,  because  Nature  1ms  supplied  them  with  an  obnoxious  tick 

down   there,  and  it  was  not  profitable;   but  the  United  States  C.overn- 

(96) 


Address  by  Secretary  Wilson 


merit  has  set  about  destroying  that  tick,  and  will  succeed.  Those  people 
will  get  pasture,  those  people  will  grow  grasses,  the  grasses  will  fill  the 
soil,  erosion  will  cease  comparatively;  and  when  they  want  a  great 
cotton  crop  they  will  plow  up  the  soil,  as  the  man  in  Iowa  plows  up  the 
pasture  to  get  a  corn  crop.     [Applause] 

Then  go  further  west  into  what  was  known  as  the  American  desert, 
west  of  the  one  hundredth  meridian.  The  Department  of  Agriculture 
hunted  the  world  over  for  plants  that  grew  in  dry  conditions  like  those, 
and  among  the  deserts  in  Asia  and  Africa  they  found  the  plants  that 
would  grow  there.  They  found  a  hard  wheat;  and  we  had  quite  an 
interesting  time  in  getting  it  introduced,  because  the  miller  did  not 
want  to  grind  hard  wheat;  it  took  more  power— but  we  heard  of  fifty 
million  bushels  of  it  last  year.  [Applause]  It  is  the  richest  wheat 
that  grows,  there  is  more  nutriment  in  it  than  in  any  other  wheat.  It 
is  growing  all  the  way  from  the  Dakotas  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

But  you  can  not  grow  crops  forever  without  legumes.     Those  people 
out  there  have  rich  land;  the  disintegrated  rock  out  in  that  country 
has  never  been  washed;  the  mineral  plant  food  found  in  this  disinte- 
grated rock  has  not  been  carried  away  as  in  the  southern  States  with 
floods  of  water,  because  they  do  not  have  floods  of  water.     [Laughter] 
When  the  irrigation  problem  under  my  friend  Newell,  here,  lets  water 
on  to  land  it  will  grow  anything,  because  it  is  ready  to  produce  any- 
thing, and  is  exceedingly  rich.     When  you  speak  practically  of  the  de- 
struction of  a  soil  it  means  that  you  have  taken  away  that  part  of  the  plant 
food  that  comes  largely  from  the  atmosphere.     That  is  what  has  been 
taken  away;  and  good  farming  means  the  keeping  of  that  supply  of 
organic  matter  in  the  soil— that  is  simply  what  good  farming  means. 
It  is  well  enough  to  apply  fertilizer  if  your  system  of  farming  is  such 
that  you  can  not  get  a  pasture.     That  is  well  enough;  but  the  people  in 
the  Mississippi  valley  never  have  used  fertilizers,  and  let  me  tell  you 
they  never  will,  because  there  is  not  fertilizer  enough  to  be  gotten  in 
the  market  to  supply  all  the  American  farmers.     We  have  got*  to  farm 
without  it;  and  the  people  in  the  dry  region  are  some  day  going  to  supply 
the  cities  of  the  East  with  wheat  from  that  same  dry  region.     [Applause] 
We  sent  men  two  years  ago  away  up  into  northern  Siberia  to  find  legumes 
to  grow  in  North  Dakota.     We  knew  they  must  be  there,  because  man 
could  not  farm  without  legumes;  and  when  we  went  there  we  found  a 
clover  that  lived  in  the  winter,  with  the  thermometer  six  degrees  below 
freezing;  and  we  found  new  alfalfas,  and  also  winter  wheat. 

Now  all  I  can  tell  you  is  that  we  are  going  to  bring  these  Siberian 
winter  wheats  here  this  summer,  and  take  them  out  to  the  people  west 
of  the  one  hundredth  meridian;  and  then  those  people  will  be  readv  to 
farm.     [Great  applause] 


(97) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


The  Presiding  Officer  (Governor  Johnson)  :  We  know  that  we  have 
been  travelling  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  toward  great  prosperity. 
I  think  the  two  days  we  have  spent  together  have  indicated  that  the 
race  in  the  future  at  least  will  have  a  great  deal  of  trouble  in  keeping  up. 
I  think  the  Secretary  has  struck  a  very  happy  note  in  one  thing;  he  has 
advised  a  remedy.  He  says  that  we  have  got  to  have  something  from 
the  atmosphere  for  the  enrichment  of  the  soil.  I  know  there  are  a 
number  of  men  here  in  politics,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  will  give  a  num- 
ber of  politicians  an  occupation.  [Great  laughter  and  applause]  If 
hot  air  is  just  as  good  as  cold  air,  we  know  what  the  politicians  in  the 
future  have  got  to  do.     [Laughter] 

The  papers  are  now  open  for  general  discussion.  I  am  quite  sure  that 
this  Conference  so  far  has  been  a  great  success.  If  anyone  here  will  give 
expression  to  one  idea  that  will  make  someone  go  out  in  the  wilderness 
and  blaze  a  trail  where  he  may  find  an  opening,  and  be  of  some  benefit 
to  the  human  race,  I  am  quite  sure  that  will  add  to  the  value  of  the 
sessions. 

I  hope  that,  different  from  yesterday,  the  remarks  of  today  will  be 
germane  to  the  various  papers  that  have  been  addressed  to  the  Con- 
ference. I  trust  also  that  anyone  desiring  to  speak  will,  when  rising, 
give  his  name  and  State,  which  will  facilitate  the  keeping  of  the 
stenographic  report  of  the  proceedings. 

The  statements  are  now  open  for  general  discussion. 

Governor  Folk:  Mr  President,  following  the  line  laid  down  by  the 
gentlemen  who  have  spoken  with  reference  to  finding  some  means  for 
enriching  the  soil,  I  would  like  to  call  the  attention  of  the  members  of 
the  Conference  to  a  unique  idea  that  is  being  carried  out  generally  in 
Germany,  and  which  will  no  doubt  be  applied  in  this  country,  especially 
in  the  preservation  of  our  soils.  It  is  a  process,  that  has  been  long 
known  in  Germany,  for  taking  nitrogen  from  the  air  and  making  it  into 
fertilizer.  The  process  is  now  being  used  in  this  country,  and  there  is  a 
gentleman  present  who  can  give  us  some  information  on  that  very 
interesting  subject. 

The-  Presiding  Officer  :  It  would  seem  that  that  would  more  properly 
come  up  in  the  program  of  tomorrow. 

Governor  Folk:  There  is  an  agricultural  feature  to  it,  and  for  that 
reason  I  mentioned  it.  I  would  like  to  have  you  call  on  the  gentleman, 
who  is  present,  and  who  is  very  familiar  with  the  subject. 

The  PRESIDING  OFFICER:  The  subject  will  more  properly  come  up 
tomorrow,  under  the  program;  but  if  the  Conference  desires  it  we  will 
take  it  up  now. 

It  was  moved  and  seconded  thai  tin-  consideration  of  the  subject  be 
postponed  until  tomorrow,  and  the  motion  was  carried  viva  voce. 

(98) 


Address  by  Commissioner  Whipple 


The  Presiding  Officer  :   We  will  now  hear  from  Mr  Whipple  of  New 
York. 


Address  by  James  S.  Whipple 

NEW    YORK    STATE    FOREST,    FISH    AND    GAME    COMMISSIONER 

Mr  President,  Governors,  and  Gentlemen: 

The  able  papers  that  have  been  read  by  Mr  Hill  and  others  tell  us 
of  the  danger  of  exhaustion  and  loss  of  our  natural  resources.  It  seems 
to  me  that  the  farm  and  forest  must  go  hand  in  hand.  Coal,  once  used, 
can  not  be  returned.  Iron,  once  used,  can  not  be  put  back  into  the 
mountain.  Oil  and  gas,  once  used,  are  gone  forever.  Then  the  most 
that  can  be  done  is  to  use  them  carefully,  making  each  go  as  far  as 
possible  for  our  use.  All  of  our  natural  resources  are  of  great  impor- 
tance. They  form  the  real  wealth  of  our  Nation;  yet  the  greatest  of 
these  is  the  forest. 

On  the  forest  more  depends  than  on  any  other  one  natural  resource, 
any  other  one  natural  product.  The  water-flow  of  the  Nation  largely 
depends  on  the  forest.  The  productive  quality  of  our  farms  depend  in 
a  great  measure  upon  our  forests.  Our  waterways  for  transportation 
depend  on  our  forests.  Game  birds  and  game  animals  depend  largely 
on  our  forests;  there  is  their  home  and  breeding  place.  You  tell  us 
iron,  coal,  other  minerals,  gas  and  oil  are  rapidly  giving  out,  yet  no  one 
has  suggested  a  remedy  except  to  be  careful,  and,  indeed,  it  is  all  that 
can  be  suggested.  Yet  the  forests  can  be  protected,  the  waste  places 
can  be  re-forested.  This  is  the  one  great  need  of  the  present  time. 
The  future  prosperity  of  our  people  depends  on  it  because  our  farms 
depend  on  it;  and  from  them,  and  from  them  only,  can  we  obtain  the 
things  we  live  on. 

Let  us  take  New  York  as  an  illustration.  We  have  more  than  50,000 
square  miles  of  area,  32,129,920  acres.  It  is  a  rolling,  hilly  country, 
with  broad  valleys  and  great  upland  plateaus  in  the  Adirondacks  and 
Catskills  and  the  foot-hills  of  the  Alleghanies.  From  these  uplands 
most  of  our  rivers  run.  We  now  have  standing  about  41,000,000,000 
feet  of  timber,  board  measure.  Last  year  we  cut  off  more  than  1,300,- 
000,000  feet.  About  27%  of  our  total  area  is  covered  with  forests,  good, 
bad,  and  indifferent.  The  State  owns,  of  this  woodland,  more  than 
1,600,000  acres.  That,  under  the  Constitution,  can  not  be  cut.  That 
amount  must  be  deducted  in  the  calculation.  A  simple  mathematical 
calculation  indicates  that,  at  the  rate  we  are  now  going,  in  about  twenty- 
two  years  we  will  not  have  a  sawing-stick  left  standing,  except  on  State 
land. 

(99) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

We  have  been  told  that  our  farms  are  growing  less  productive.  What 
will  they  produce  when  the  timber  that  protects  the  sources  of  water 
supply  is  gone?  Is  there  any  doubt  about  what  the  conditions  will  be? 
Is  there  any  doubt  about  the  fact  that  a  country  without  wood  and 
water  is  like  a  house  without  a  roof — valueless  and  uninhabitable?  Let 
me  illustrate:  Suppose  that  today  by  some  great  force  in  Nature  every 
tree  and  shrub  were  swept  away  from  the  face  of  New  York  State,  what 
would  the  condition  be  tomorrow?  Would  not  chaos  reign?  The 
streams  would  be  uncovered,  the  waters  would  dry  up;  God's  reservoir 
under  the  trees  on  the  forest  floor  would  be  destroyed;  the  farms  would 
soon  become  unproductive,  and  in  a  year  would  shrink  in  value  and  in 
products  at  least  half.  The  commercial  supremacy  of  the  State  would 
be  much  injured,  if  not  destroyed;  and  all  on  account  of  the  loss  of  our 
forests.  There  would  be  raging  torrents  in  flood-time,  scattering  de- 
struction everywhere,  and  dry  river-beds  in  the  heated  term  of  the  year. 
Is  there  doubt  about  this?  If  you  think  so,  then  tell  me  why  it  is  that 
the  arid  lands  in  the  West,  which  can  only  produce  cactus,  will,  when 
you  pour  some  water  over  them  and  plant  a  few  trees,  nourished  by  the 
water,  blossom  like  a  rose?  If  it  is  not  true,  tell  me  why  lands  in  China, 
once  very  productive,  are  now  worthless  since  the  trees  have  been  cut 
away?  If  it  is  not  true,  tell  we  why  the  Valley  of  the  Euphrates,  once 
beautiful  and  productive,  is  today  a  howling  waste,  merely  because  the 
forests  have  been  destroyed? 

In  the  State  of  New  York  there  are  great  natural  opportunities  for 
generating  power  by  the  conservation  of  the  waterflow.  Outside  of  the 
river  Niagara  and  the  St.  Lawrence,  there  is  at  least  550,000  horsepower, 
with  450,000  now  developed.  This  furnishes  an  opportunity  for  the 
investment  of  great  sums  of  money  and  the  employment  of  much  labor; 
but  yet,  what  will  be  the  use  of  building  great  storage  reservoirs  on  the 
Hudson,  the  Genesee,  the  Allegany,  or  the  Sacandaga  unless  the  forests 
are  preserved,  and  thereby  a  constant  flow  of  water  is  kept  coming  from 
the  springs  on  the  mountain  tops  and  the  hillsides  to  supply  the  larger 
streams  tributary  to  these  great  rivers?  Without  forests,  much  of  the 
power  of  the  inland  rivers  of  the  State  will  be  destroyed.  Forests  can 
be  restored.  That  is  the  problem  of  the  hour.  You  say  the  coal  is 
going,  and  do  not  tell  us  how  to  replenish  it.  We  all  say  the  forests  are 
going,  and  I  tell  you  how  to  save  them,  how  to  restore  them.  Save  them 
by  setting  aside  a  forest  reserve;  restore  them  by  planting  trees.  A 
tree  crop  can  be  raised  as  well  as  an  oat  crop.  It  takes  longer;  that  is 
all.  It  is  profitable  business,  once  understood.  Shall  we,  the  supposed 
most  intelligent  people  in  the  whole  world,  stand  with  folded  hands  and 
do  nothing  of  importance  to  save  and  restore  our  forests?  Shall  we  sit 
supinely  by  and  allow  total  destruction  to  take  place  in  this  respect, 

(100) 


Address  by  Commissioner  Whipple 


when  we  have  the  history  of  Germany,  France  and  Switzerland  for  a 
thousand  years,  teaching  us  the  lesson?  The  most  imperative  duty  of 
America  today  is  to  save  the  forests  of  this  country.  [Great  applause] 
The  State  of  New  York,  as  a  State,  has  planted  more  trees  than  all 
the  other  States,  and  yet  it  is  a  mere  drop  in  the  bucket.  I  do  not  speak 
of  what  the  State  has  done  with  much  pride.  I  rather  speak  of  it  with 
regret  that  we  have  not  done  more.  This  year  we  have  planted  i ,  1 00,000 
pine  and  spruce  trees;  it  should  have  been  20,000,000  instead.  It  is  all 
a  matter  of  education.  We  must  go  among  the  people  and  show  to  them 
the  necessity;  they  will  respond.  Every  farmer  should  plant  trees  on 
the  vacant  places  on  his  farm  that  are  not  good  for  agricultural  purposes. 
[Great  applause]  Every  individual  should  plant  trees.  The  cut  in  the 
United  States  is  at  least  four  times  the  amount  of  reproduction;  the 
end  is  in  sight  unless  we  all  plant  trees. 

Very  largely  the  condition  in  New  York  is  the  condition  in  all  the 
States.  The  forests  are  going.  We  should  cut  ripe  trees,  hurned  tim- 
ber, down  timber,  saving  the  smaller  saplings  and  some  seed  trees  for 
future  growth  and  future  seeding.  In  addition  to  that,  we  must  plant 
the  cone-bearing  trees,  as  they  do  not,  in  most  places,  readily  reseed. 
Hardwoods  will  replenish  themselves,  but  the  cone  tree  seldom  does  so 
in  commercial  quantities.  We  must  encourage  individual  efforts  by 
furnishing  trees  free,  and  by  relieving  land  dedicated  to  tree-growing 
from  taxation ;  at  least  from  increased  taxation.  These  are  the  things  that 
are  happening;  these  are  the  things  that  must  be  done.  Until  this 
country  plants  trees  and  protects  forests,  as  Germany  does,  we  will  not 
be  safe;  when  this  is  done  we  shall  be  safe  in  that  respect  in  America  in 
the  future.     [Great  applause] 

The  Presiding  Officer  :  It  has  been  the  general  impression  that  New 
York  has  been  exhausting  the  energies  of  the  People  of  America  for  a 
long  time;  and  I  am  glad  to  know  that  they  are  putting  something  back 
into  the  soil. 

Governor  Brooks:  May  I  ask  Mr  Whipple  if  that  work  was  not  done 
entirely  under  the  supervision  of  the  State  Forestry  Commission? 

Commissioner  Whipple:  Entirely  under  the  charge  of  the  State  For- 
estry Commissioner. 

Governor  Brooks:  How  long  has  the  forestry  service  of  the  State 
Government  of  New  York  been  in  existence? 

Commissioner  Whipple  :  Eighteen  years. 

Governor  Brooks  :  In  the  estimate  of  timber,  is  it  not  a  fact  that  in  the 
Adirondacks  many  sections  have  been  cut  over  already  three  different  times  ? 

Commissioner  Whipple :  I  am  simply  stating  the  fact  about  it;  it  is 
not  a  question  of  estimate.  No  section  has  been  gone  over  three  times, 
except  to  pick  up  the  tops.     Some  of  it  has  been  cut  over  twice. 

(IOI) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


Let  me  call  the  attention  of  the  Gentleman  to  one  other  thing.  A  cone 
tree  in  America  can  never,  by  natural  causes,  re-seed  itself  commercially. 
The  hardwoods  will  reseed;  but  the  tree  which  bears  a  cone  must  be 
planted  artificially.  The  planted  tree,  or  the  replanted  tree  put  into 
the  forest,  will  grow  in  height  twice  as  fast  as  the  natural  seed  tree  of  the 
forest,  because  we  get  a  larger  root-growth  every  time  we  transplant  it. 
It  is  the  most  profitable  business  tree  that  a  man  can  invest  his  money 
in,  and  it  will  pay  twice  compound  interest  to  any  man  who  will  invest 
his  money  in  it. 

Governor  Brooks  :  I  am  very  much  interested  in  the  Commissioner's 
remarks  relative  to  the  work  being  accomplished  by  the  State  of  New 
York  in  protecting  and  preserving  forests  and  in  reforestation.  I  have 
followed  the  reports  of  the  State  Forestry  Commission  rather  closely, 
and  I  was  under  the  impression  that  during  Governor  Flower's  adminis- 
tration it  was  stated,  in  those  reports,  that  certain  sections  of  the  Adiron- 
dacks  had  been  cut  over  three  times;  the  trees  being  limited,  of  course, 
to  twelve  inches  in  diameter,  and  from  that  up. 

Commissioner  Whipple  :  They  have  cut  off  every  green  tree  upon  the 
slopes  of  the  Hudson,  and  erosion  is  taking  place  today.  It  has  not 
been  cut  over  three  times;  and  yet  we  are  importing  85%  of  our  wood 
for  paper  from  Canada.  I  think  we  are  using  300,000,000  feet  from  the 
Adirondacks  alone. 

The  Presiding  Officer:  Let  me  make  a  suggestion:  It  has  occurred 
to  me  that  probably  a  great  many  Conferees  would  like  to  ask  questions 
with  reference  to  this  subject.  Why  not  submit  them  in  writing  and  let 
Mr  Whipple  answer  them  at  some  future  session? 

Commissioner  Whipple:  Mr  Chairman,  there  is  just  one  further  sug- 
gestion I  want  to  make,  and  it  is  this:  We  have  put  upon  the  statute 
books  a  law  exempting  land  dedicated  to  tree-raising  from  taxes.  [Great 
applause] 

The  Presiding  Officer:  Governor  Fort  is  called  for.     [Applause] 

Address  by  John  Franklin  Fort 
governor  of  new  jersey 

Mr  President  and  Genili  men: 

New  Jersey  may  not  seem  to  be  a  State  that  would  naturally  be 
interested  in  forestry,  but  it  is.  Forty-six  per  cent  of  our  State  is 
woodland,  old  as  we  are,  coming  in  as  we  did  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Republic,  and  expecting  as  we  do  to  remain  until  the  end.  [Laughter] 
We  have  a  State  Forestry  Commission  that  is  doing  splendid  work. 

(102) 


Address  by  Governor  Fort 


We  have  purchased  in  New  Jersey  10,000  acres  of  land  within  the  last 
three  or  four  years,  land  that  we  could  pick  up  for  this  purpose,  to  con- 
serve it  as  a  forest  reservation.  We  appropriated  this  year  in  the  legis- 
lature $25,000,  a  reasonable  amount  for  a  small  State,  for  the  continu- 
ance of  the  purchase  of  land  for  forest  reservations  in  New  Jersey.  That 
means  that  we  will  be  able  to  purchase  probably  five  or  six  thousand 
acres  during  the  present  year  in  our  State.  We  have  agreed  with  those 
townships  and  localities  of  our  State  where  this  forest  land  lies  that  we 
will  pay  them  from  the  Treasury  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey  two  cents 
an  acre  on  taxes  for  every  acre  of  land  that  we  take  from  the  locality 
out  of  their  tax  ratables.       [Applause] 

We  have  endeavored  to  do  another  thing;  we  did  not  succeed  with 
the  legislature  this  year,  but  I  think  we  will  succeed  a  year  later:  We 
are  establishing  fire  lines  along  all  the  railways  of  the  State,  opening  a 
lane  of  ten  feet  a  hundred  feet  from  either  side  of  the  track;  and  we 
provide  that  the  man  who  will  not  permit  us  to  do  that  through  the 
forest  land  of  New  Jersey  shall  not  have  any  action  against  the  railroads 
for  damages,  [laughter  and  applause]  and  if  he  will  permit  us  to  do  it, 
and  fire  results,  then  he  has  his  remedy,  as  he  has  now.  The  object  of 
that  is,  as  you  will  see,  to  protect  the  forest  lands  of  our  State.  These 
lands  mean  a  great  deal  to  us,  situated  as  we  are  along  the  Atlantic  Coast. 

A  Conferee:  You  have  not  done  that  yet? 

Governor  Fort:  We  expected  to  do  it  this  year,  and  we  came  very 
near  doing  it.  I  think  it  was  an  oversight  rather  than  through  opposi- 
tion that  the  bill  failed  of  passage. 

We  do  not  expect  large  results  in  the  way  of  lumber  industry  in  New 
Jersey.  The  present  output  in  our  State  is  about  $2,000,000  a  year, 
which  is  small  compared  with  your  great  western  States  where  you  get 
such  enormous  revenue  from  this  great  industry.  But  we  believe  that 
by  educating  our  people  on  this  line  we  can  increase  the  industry  to  at 
least  $6,000,000  a  year  in  a  very  short  time;  and  in  addition  to  that  we 
want  to  educate  the  people  to  conserve  the  forest  lands  of  our  State. 
You  know  we  are  situated  where  you  all  come  for  almost  all  the  pleasure 
you  get  in  this  world.  [Laughter]  We  have  this  magnificent  water  of 
which  we  shall  all  speak  tomorrow,  and  the  splendid  sea-coast;  and 
now,  what  we  want  to  do  in  New  Jersey  is  to  preserve  our  forests,  to 
protect  them,  and  to  build  them  up,  if  we  can,  and  I  guess  we  can, 
because  we  have  sufficient  financial  ability  to  do  it  without  very  much 
trouble  to  our  People  in  the  way  of  taxation ;  because  you  know  we  have 
no  State  tax  in  New  Jersey,  of  any  kind,  and  have  not  had  in  twenty-five 
years. 

Let  me  say  to  you  that  we  propose  to  go  on;  and  if  we  succeed,  we 
want  to  make  these    forest    reservations  (as  Dr  Kummel  says  on  a 


(103) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


memorandum  which  he  has  just  handed  to  me)  the  playground  for  the 
People  of  our  State,  and  the  People  of  the  United  States  who  come  to 
us  along  the  New  Jersey  coast.  You  only  have  to  run  about  three  miles 
back  from  the  sea  to  strike  the  ridge  of  the  pine  land.  If  you  go  to 
Lakewood  you  are  right  in  the  midst  of  the  pine  hills,  in  the  vicinity  of 
which  we  have  purchased  5,000  acres  in  the  present  year.  We  will  bid 
you  welcome  to  the  forest  reservations  we  intend  to  establish,  as  well  as 
to  our  beautiful  sea-coast,  to  which  you  all  delight  to  come.  [Applause] 
In  addition  to  their  direct  value,  we  of  New  Jersey  appreciate  our 
forests  as  conservers  of  our  waterways;  and  being  called  away  unex- 
pectedly, I  ask  your  consideration  of  a  few  facts  and  figures  (forming 
part  of  the  Secretary's  record) : 

The  progress  of  our  Nation  depends  on  its  commerce.  It  is  recog- 
nized universally  that  the  germinal  principal  of  commerce  is  transporta- 
tion. I  believe  the  most  important  problem  which  confronts  us  as  a 
Nation  as  the  efficient  and  economical  distribution  of  our  products,  in 
the  correct  solution  of  which  is  involved  not  only  our  immediate  pros- 
perity but  our  future  well-being  and  national  greatness. 

It  is  everywhere  and  by  everyone  admitted  that  the  railroads  of  this 
Nation  can  not  successfully  cope  with  the  problem  of  the  transportation 
of  our  interstate  commodities,  our  natural  and  manufactured  products, 
our  exports  and  our  imports. 

Railroad  construction  has  been  overtaken  by  the  development  of  our 
industries,  and  the  Nation  as  a  whole  has  suffered  by  reason  of  the 
inability  of  our  railroads  to  keep  step  with  our  rapid  industrial  growth. 

Measured  in  ton-miles,  freight  traffic  in  this  country  has  increased 
over  400%  in  20  years;  and  of  the  total  estimated  wealth  of  the  country, 
railroad  freight  charges  amount  to  the  stupendous  figure  of  i£%. 

It  is  apparent  to  every  student  of  the  times  that  additional  facilities 
for  transportation  must  be  provided  if  we  are  to  maintain  our  commercial 
supremacy. 

To  illustrate  graphically  these  facts,  note  diagram  1,  which  shows  to 
scale  the  tonnage  carried  by  steam  roads  in  the  United  States  each  year 
from  1882  to  1906,  and  also  the  passengers  carried  during  the  same 
period;  diagram  2,  showing  the  increase  in  value  of  manufactured 
products  in  the  United  States  for  each  year  from  1882  to  1906,  and 
immediately  below  the  mileage  of  steam  railroads  in  the  United  States 
for  the  same  period;  and  diagram  3,  showing  the  freight  passing  annually 
the  Sault  Ste.  Marie  canals  from  1888  to  1905,  which  illustrates  what 
one  single  canal  improvement  has  accomplished. 

James  J.  Hill,  that  master  workman  and  constructionist  of  the  North- 
west, states  that  our  railroads  are  inadequate  to  meet  the  demands  made 
upon  them.     In  a  speech  at  Kansas  City  in  which  he  gave  voice  to  his 

(104) 


Address  by  Governor  Fort 


opinion — an  opinion  of  a  man  whose  life  work  has  been  devoted  to  the 
solution  of  the  problem  of  transportation  by  rail — he  said: 

The  transportation  facilities  of  the  whole  country  are  and  have  been  unequal  to 
its  present  needs.  They  must  be  made  equal  to  the  burdens  they  bear,  or  the  country 
can  not  prosper. 

A  year  ago  I  said  it  would  require  $5,500,000,000,  or  $1,000,000,000  a  year  for 
five  years,  to  make  our  facilities  equal  to  the  demands  upon  them.  Although  sub- 
stantially the  amount  of  money  suggested  by  me  as  indispensable  has  been  collected 
and  spent,  the  railroads  have  barely  held  their  own,  and  the  future  remains  to  be 
provided  for.  Not  less,  but  in  the  opinion  of  competent  judges,  more — perhaps  50% 
more — must  be  spent  annually  for  the  five  years  to  come. 


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1 

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I 

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1 

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/'n  Tonn,  ige  car  ~/'eo/  6y  .  Steam  ffiac/j  /'/? 


/ncr  ?aje  //J  ft  'ssenger^ 


dyt/ie  A  ?i/roac/s 


'A?  t/sr/tt  c/ State  ; 


/n  t/>e  6 


o/teo'  Si  ates 


~z 


/es2     /8G4    me     ma     /&o 


JSS2      /S34       /89ff 
Diagram  I 


/03S       /S00      /302      /SO*      /306 


It  is  then  apparent  that  we  can  not  anticipate  immediate  relief  from 
the  railroads  and  we  must  look  elsewhere  for  a  remedy.  As  a  nation  we 
can  not  stand  still;  we  must  obey  the  immutable  law  of  progression  or 
retrogression;  we  can  not  go  backward;  we  must  go  forward;  and  the 
relief  we  seek  is  at  our  very  hands.  Overlooked  for  years,  save  by  the 
sagacity  of  the  few  to  whom  we  owe  the  creation  of  the  Inland  Water- 
ways Commission,  we  now  recognize  that  in  the  great  primal  scope  of 
things  our  waterways  were  meant  to  serve  as  highways  for  our  com- 
merce and  to  provide  interstate  communication. 

An  examination  of  every  map  of  the  United  States  will  reveal  that 
navigable  rivers  and  lakes  traverse  our  lands  from  the  East  to  West, 
and  the  North  to  the  South.  No  other  Nation  the  world  over  can  boast 
of  such  an  abundance  of  natural  waterways. 

(105) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


The  development  of  the  waterways  of  the  country  is  one  of  the  most 
commendable  projects  undertaken  by  the  National  Government,  and 
one  which  will  materially  add  to  the  commercial  advancement  of  our 
country. 

The  marvelous  growth  of  our  country  has  been  made  possible  solely 
through  the  energy  of  the  men  whose  skill  has  consummated  the  greatest 
railway  systems  ever  known  to  the  world,  to  whom  we  must  rightfully 
attribute  much  of  our  material  success. 

It  is  but  natural  to  assume  that  in  extending  the  railway  enterprises 
of  our  land  many  mistakes  have  been  made;  on  the  other  hand  it  would 
be  supernatural  if  errors  had  not  ensued. 


22Q00C 


%200,000 

1+4/60,000 

f^/40.000 

\/20000{ 

/OO.OOC 

/882     /6S4      /&2G      /d33     /390      /892      /834    /89S      /898      /900     /302    /904     /SOS 

Diagram  2 

For  the  past  thirty  or  forty  years  most  of  the  brains  and  skill  of  our 
brightest  men,  together  with  their  capital,  has  been  invested  in  the  cre- 
ation of  utilities  for  public  service;  first,  in  the  construction  of  extensive 
steam  railway  lines;  second,  in  the  creation  of  street  railway  projects; 
and,  third,  in  the  local  development  of  water  powers  for  the  production 
of  heat,  light,  and  power.  So  much  has  this  been  so  that,  with  few 
exceptions,  the  American  Nation  has  lost  sight  of  the  commercial  import- 
ance of  its  waterways. 

Twenty-six  hundred  miles  of  artificial  waterways  have  been  sacrificed 
to  the  cupidity  of  short-sightedness,  and  now  that  the  public,  including 
the  railroads,  realizes  that  our  Nation  has  expanded  in  such  a  measure 


(106) 


Address  by  Governor  Fort 


that  we  cannot  be  served  by  existing  traffic  arrangements,  and  our  exi- 
gencies demand  an  auxiliary  medium  of  transportation,  the  entire  coun- 
try is  aroused  to  the  desirability  of  so  improving  our  internal  waterways 
both  natural  and  artificial,  that  the  same  can  be  utilized  for  purposes  of 
commerce.  rww»  Ul 

We  of  New  Jersey  believe  in  conservatism;  however,  not  in  the  con- 
servatism the  synonym  of  which  is  the  expressive  phrase  "do  nothing" 
but  rather  the  conservatism  which  finds  its  real  definition  in  the  word 
caution. 

I  strongly  advocate  the  rehabilitation  and  utilization  at  moderate 
expenditure  of  such  of  our  artificial  waterways  as  are  not  beyond  redemp- 


f^g  gg»*  htca„,t  Mrove  ;  t*e  S*  ,/t  Ste  A  b^te.  ZZ 


'"*     /m     /sss      "*>     "**     ""    «»     ss*     ,L     Jg     XuT 

Diagram  3 

tion.  This  would  afford  immediate  relief  to  our  facilities  of  transporta- 
tion and  would  involve  but  nominal  expenditures.  I  believe  this  work 
should  be  undertaken  as  expeditiously  as  possible  and  that  the  Execu- 
tes of  the  several  States  in  which  these  artificial  waterways  are  main- 
tained should  lend  their  energies  and  their  influence  in  this  behalf 

The  creation  of  additional  deeper  waterways  is  a  stupendous  under- 
taking, and  we  should  profit  by  the  lessons  of  our  past  experience  and 
not  essay  too  much  without  deep  study  and  careful  investigation  par- 
ticularly in  view  of  the  additional  strain  which  it  would  entail  upon  our 
financial  resources.  I  believe  it  would  be  advisable  that  each  State  cre- 
ate by  legislative  enactment  a  Waterways  Commission,  composed  of  eiigin- 


56254 — 09 10 


(107) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

eers  of  recognized  ability  and  public  spirited  men  of  large  affairs,  to 
carefully  investigate  the  conditions  and  necessities  of  each  State,  to  make 
the  necessary  recommendations  and  outline  a  concrete  plan  to  be  fol- 
lowed by  each  State  within  its  borders,  or  by  the  Federal  Government, 
as  may  be  decided  upon  after  due  consideration  of  the  legal  questions 
involved  and  the  determination  of  the  status  of  all  the  parties  at  interest 
in  this  important  matter. 

The  problems  before  us  possess  many  ramifications,  and  our  plans,  to 
meet  with  the  success  they  merit,  must  be  comprehensive  and  must 
include  provision  for  all  the  co-related  phases  of  this  subject — the  pre- 
servation of  our  forests;  the  reclamation  of  our  swamp  lands;  the  irri- 
gation of  our  arid  lands;  the  protection  of  the  banks  of  our  streams;  the 
clarification  of  their  waters,  and  other  related  matters;  and  I  am  of  the 
firm  conviction  that  ultimately  every  means  of  transportation  of  our  rail- 
ways and  our  waterways  will  be  coordinated,  and  I  believe  that  any 
plans  we  may  here  evolve  should  have  the  eventual  coordination  of  our 
transportation  facilities  in  view. 

As  the  Executives  of  each  State  will  present  to  us  in  this  Conference 
information  pertaining  to  their  local  conditions,  I  shall  therefore  confine 
myself  to  the  two  subjects  of  first  importance  to  the  State  of  New  Jersey, 
of  which  the  greatest  is  Water  Transportation  and  the  next  Forestry  (on 
which  I  have  already  spoken). 

I — OUR   IMPORTANT  GEOGRAPHICAL   POSITION   AS   A   GATEWAY  FOR   INCOM- 
ING   AND   OUTGOING   TRAFFIC 

New  Jersey  occupies  a  strategic  geographical  position  with  reference  to 
the  New  England,  Southern,  and  mid-Western  States. 

Situate  between  the  great  metropolis  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  and 
New  York,  the  greater  metropolis  of  the  Nation,  its  southwestern  shores 
form  a  part  of  the  Philadelphia  harbor  while  its  northern  shores  form  a 
part  of  the  New  York  harbor;  and  it  also  lies  between  the  great  anthra- 
cite coal  mines  and  the  iron  and  cement  fields  of  the  Lehigh  valley,  and 
tide  water. 

With  its  Hudson  and  Delaware  rivers  and  Newark  and  Raritan  bays 
it  furnishes  safe  and  protected  anchorage  for  vast  fleets  of  vessels,  and 
from  these  bays  barges  could  pass  through  its  rivers  and  inland  natural 
and  artificial  waterways  to  every  important  city  of  the  State. 

Through  the  use  of  its  own  waterways  and  canals,  in  conjunction  with 
the  Lehigh  canal  which  lies  in  Pennsylvania  along  the  western  shores  of 
Delaware  River,  Xew  Jersey  is  the  gateway  to  tidal  water  for  the  anthra- 
cite coal  fields;  and  transportation  by  water  is  practicable,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  Delaware  River  and  the  Chesapeake  and  Delaware  canal,  for 
the  bituminous  coal  of  the  West  Virginia  fields  to  all  its  manufacturing 

cities. 

(i  08) 


Address  by  Governor  Fort 

With  these  water  facilities  made  available,  water  transportation  to  all 
its  manufacturing  cities  and  the  tide-water  becomes  open  to  the  areat 
cement  fields  and  pig  iron  of  the  Lehigh  Valley,  and  to  the  incoming'iron 
ore  from  Cuba  and  the  Northwest,  lumber  from  the  South,  clay  and  all 
heavy  bulk  material  used  for  manufacturing  and  building  purposes  within 
the  State.  In  like  manner  its  natural  and  manufactured  products  can 
be  shipped  to  tide-water,  from  whence  they  can  be  distributed  to  the 
whole  Atlantic  coast  and  by  Hudson  River  and  Erie  canal  to  the  Lake 
Region  and  the  Northwest. 

An  inspection  of  any  map  which  shows  the  canal  systems  leading  in 
all  directions  from  the  anthracite  coal  fields  and  across  the  State  of  New 
Jersey  to  tide-water  will  clearly  illustrate  New  Jersey's  position 

The  total  production  of  anthracite  coal  from  the  Pennsylvania  coal 
fields  in  1906  was  approximately  71,000,000  tons,  valued  at  $132,000  000 
at  the  mines.  Of  this  amount  over  62,500,000  tons  were  shipped  from 
the  anthracite  fields.  The  principal  roads  over  which  this  coal  passed 
are  as  follows: 

Philadelphia  &  Reading  ?rOSS  tons' 

Lehigh  Valley.  '8,241,512 

D.  L.  &  W.  R.  R  9,971,699 

ErieR.  R '""_'_  9,201,875 

Delaware  &  Hudson  — .—                                                 5,636,537 

Pennsylvania  R.  R._  ^s* 

New  York,  Ontario  &  Western  ""     4>    5   '  °°4 

2,444,273 

The  total  exports  from  the  United  States  of  anthracite  coal  were 
2,216  969  tons,  valued  at  over  $10,800,000.  The  amount  of  anthracite 
coal  shipped  to  the  port  of  New  York  (which  includes  the  Jersey  shore 
as  well)  and  re-shipped  from  that  port  was  12,739,5x8  tons,  while  the 
anthracite  shipments  to  Philadelphia  were  5,622,137  tons,  and  to  Balti- 
more 707,425  tons.  This  tends  to  show  the  heavy  movement  of  anthra- 
cite coal  from  the  coal  fields  to  the  sea  ports  and  indicates  the  movement 
ot  this  commodity  across  the  State  of  New  Jersey. 

No  records  are  available  showing  the  anthracite 'coal  consumption  in 
New  York  City  and  surrounding  communities,  but  estimates  by  men  of 
long  experience  in  the  coal  trade  place  this  consumption  at  from  15%  to 
25%  of  the  total  anthracite  output.     The  greater  part  of  the  coal  re- 
shipped  from  the  Port  of  New  York  goes  by  coal  barge  or  sailing  vessel 
and  in  the  absence  of  a  continuous  inland  waterway  parallelino-  the  coast 
there  have  been  many  and  serious  losses  of  these  coal-carryin-  vessels 
especially  among  the  barges.     One  of  the  great  advantages  in  °the  ship- 
ment of  coal  in  barges  by  canal  from  the  fields  will  be  the  savin-  in  re- 
handling  of  coal,  as  with  the  completed  scheme  of  inland  waterways  this 
coal  can  go  directly  in  the  original  bottoms  to  ports  on  the  New  England 
and  Southern  coasts  as  well  as  the  Port  of  New  York 

(109) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

The  cement  manufacturers  in  the  Lehigh  valley,  which  occupies  prac- 
tically the  same  position  with  relation  to  New  Jersey  as  the  anthracite 
coal  fields,  produce  annually  almost  one-half  of  the  portland  cement  pro- 
duced in  the  United  States;  the  total  production  in  the  United  States  in 
1906  being  46,463,000  barrels,  of  which  22,784,000  barrels  were  produced 
in  the  Lehigh  valley.  The  average  value  of  the  cement  manufactured 
in  the  Lehigh  district  for  1906  was  $1.00  per  barrel,  or  a  total  of 
$22,784,000.  This  immense  tonnage  is  tributary  to  the  railroads  and 
canal  systems  crossing  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  and  would  find  its  natural 
Eastern  outlet  through  the  ports  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia.  The 
important  part  which  cement  plays  in  almost  all  types  of  building  con- 
struction today  makes  the  cheap  transportation  of  cement  a  matter  of 
vital  importance  to  the  whole  country. 

II — NEW   JERSEY    AS    A   MANUFACTURING    STATE 

We  are  preeminently  a  manufacturing  State,  and  in  many  industries 
we  lead  the  Nation — notably  in  the  silk  industry  and  in  the  smelting 
and  refining  of  copper,  in  both  of  which  New  Jersey  ranks  first,  and 
holds  second  rank  in  the  production  of  pottery,  terra-cotta  and  fire-clay 
products,  and  fourth  rank  in  the  jewelry  and  glass  industries.  Other 
large  industries  are  slaughtering  and  meat  packing,  chemicals,  electrical 
machinery,  foundry  and  machine  shop  products,  leather  tanning  and 
finishing,  malt  liquors,  bread  and  other  bakery  products,  and  petroleum 
refining. 

The  total  number  of  manufacturing  establishments  in  the  State  in 
1905  was  7,010,  representing  an  invested  capital  of  $715,060,174,  employ- 
ing an  average  of  266,336  wage  earners,  and  using  raw  materials  to  the 
amount  of  $470,449,176,  from  which  are  produced  finished  products 
valued  at  $774,369,025.  These  establishments  have  installed  and  in 
use  a  total  of  about  a  half  million  horsepower,  of  which  over  78%  is 
steam  power. 

Ill — OUR    WATERWAYS,    INTERCOASTAL    AND    INLAND 

The  extent  and  condition  of  the  waterways  of  New  Jersey,  intercoastal 
and  inland,  natural  and  artificial,  is  briefly  summarized  in  the  following 
statement : 

New  Jersey  has  an  outer  coast-line  water  frontage  of  260  miles,  and 
pos  icres  of  harbor  anchorages  where  vessels  of  the  deepest  draught 

may  float.  We  have  119  miles  of  navigable  rivers  and  172  miles  of 
canals.  None  of  the  latter  have  been  actually  destroyed,  but  all  are  in 
the  possession  of  private  corporate  interests. 

New  Jersey  is  served  by  the  Hudson,  Passaic,  Hackensack,  Raritan, 
Arthur  Kull,  and  Delaware  rivers,  and  by  the  Delaware  and  Raritan 

(no) 


Address  by  Governor  Fort 

and  the  Morris  and  Essex  canals;  supplemented  by  the  Lehigh  canal 
which,    though   situated   in    Pennsylvania,   also   operates   to   serve   our 
State. 

The  mean  depth  of  the  rivers  and  bays  is  as  follows  : 

Raritan  river,  from  New  Brunswick  to  Raritan  bay igi 

Raritan  bay  (Channel) 

Arthur  Kull 2\ 

Kill  Von  Kull J? 

Newark  bay £,  . 

.      .  °i  to  33 

Passaic  river,  from  Newark  bay  to  Newark 

Hackensack  river,  from  Newark  bay  to  Hackensack ,  i 

The  canals  enumerated  were  primarily  built  to  serve  the  anthracite 
coal  trade,  on  which  their  prosperity  was  dependent.  However  with 
their  control  vested  in  corporate  railroad  interests,  which  ruled  their 
affairs  with  an  iron  hand,  they  have  practically  passed  into  disuse. 

The  most  important  of  these  artificial  waterways  is  the  Delaware  and 
Raritan  canal,  which,  I  believe,  offers  the  best  route  for  the  proposed 
Atlantic  intercoastal  waterway  development.     Connecting  the  Amboys 
on  the  east  with  Bordentown  on  the  west,  and  serving  the  industrial 
cities  of  Trenton  and  New  Brunswick,  it  affords  an  efficient  and  econom- 
ical channel  for  commerce  passing  between  the  ports  of  New  York  and 
Philadelphia.     This  canal  from  1867  to  1874  carried  an  annual  tonnage 
of  over  2,000,000.     It  was  acquired  by  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  in 
1871,  under  lease  at  an  annual  rental  of  10%  on  its  cost,  which  amounts 
to  $584,740  per  annum.     By  reason  of  the  high  tolls  charged  and  divert- 
ing freight  from  the  canal  under  railroad  control,  the  tonnage  has  de- 
creased, so  that  at  the  present  time  it  has  fallen  to  an  insignificant  amount 
not  in  any  wise  sufficient  to  pay  its  operating  expenses,  to  say  nothing  of 
meeting  its  annual  fixed  charges. 

With  proper  engineering  determinations  followed  by  sufficient  improve- 
ment and  development,  I  believe  this  canal  would  be  capable  of  showing 
large  profits  on  any  investment  which  might  be  made  in  this  property. 
The  Morris  and  Essex  canal  connects  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  with 
tide  water.     At  Easton  it  joins  the  Lehigh  canal,  which  has  its  source 
in  the  great  anthracite  coal  fields,  and  extends  102  miles,  passing  through 
the  most  fertile  fields  of  New  Jersey,  serving  Phillipsburg,  Port  Morris 
Oxford  Furnace,  Boonton,  Paterson,  Passaic,  Newark,  and  Jersey  City' 
The  total  tonnage  of  this  canal  advanced  from  554,034  tons  in  1858  to 
723,927  m  1864,  while  the  coal  tonnage  advanced  from  350,331  in  1859 
to  459,175  tons  in  1866.     In  1864  the  profits  of  this  canal  enabled  the 
declaration  of  a  dividend  of  10%  on  both  its  preferred  and  common 
stock.     In  1 87 1  this  property  was  acquired  under  lease  by  the  Lehigh 
Valley  Railroad,  for  which  an  annual  rental  of  10%  on  the  preferred 

(in) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


stock  and  4%  on  the  common  is  paid.  The  cost  of  this  property  was 
$6,000,000.  Immediately  after  1871  the  tonnage  began  to  decrease  rap- 
idly, so  that  the  last  published  records  show  that  in  1902  the  tonnage 
was  90,606,  and  its  utility  for  transporting  coal  throughout  New  Jersey 
to  tide  water  has  been  practically  destroyed. 

It  is  problematical  whether  this  canal  can  be  resuscitated  and  devel- 
oped into  a  paying  proposition.  A  careful  examination  by  competent 
engineers  will  evidence  whether  this  can  be  accomplished  or  not. 

The  great  demand  for  increased  dock  facilities  in  the  Port  of  New 
York  has  aroused  much  attention.     An  investigation  of  the  possibilities 
of  the  utilization  of  Jamaica  bay,  Long  Island,  has  been  made  by  a  com- 
mission appointed  by  the  Mayor  of  New  York  city.     Many  difficulties 
would  be  met  in  the  preparation  and  maintenance  of  a  proper  entrance 
to  Jamaica  bay  which  would  not  be  encountered  in  the  development  of 
Newark  bay  and  the  lower  reaches  of  Passaic  and  Hackensack  rivers. 
The  importance  of  developing  this  latter  waterway  can  hardly  be  esti- 
mated.    One  of  the  most  desirable  features  of  its  improvement  would 
be  the  connection  afforded  between  the  water  front  and  the  great  rail- 
way systems  which  have  their  termini  in  this  State,  and  which  could 
easily  be  obtained  on  reclaimed  meadow  land  contiguous  to  Newark  bay. 
The  experience  of  the  city  of  New  York  in  the  matter  of  dock  improve- 
ments points  very  clearly  to  the  great  importance  of  immediate  action 
bv  the  State  of  New  Jersey  toward  the  acquisition  and  control  of  any 
improvements   contemplated  either  on  Newark    bay  or  on   the  lower 
Passaic  and  Hackensack  rivers.     New  York  first  allowed  the  improve- 
ment of  its  water  front  to  be  accomplished  by  private  interests,  and  has 
since  seen  its  error.     Heavy  expense  has  been  entailed  to  the  city  of  New 
York  in  acquiring  at  this  late  day  the  water  front  required  for  the  conduct 
of  its  affairs  which  might  have  been  secured  at  a  nominal  cost  before  im- 
provements were  made.     In  fact,  the  major  portion  of  these  rights  were 
originally  vested  in  the  State  and  city  but  were  allowed  to  pass  into  the 
control  of  private  interests,  necessitating  their  reacquisition  by  the  city. 
I  believe  the  Federal  Government  should  co-operate  with  the  State  of 
New  Jersey  in  the  development  of  this  important  territory.     This  is 
unquestionably  the  most  efficient,  economical  and  expeditious  manner 
of  affording  relief  to  the  Port  of  New  York,  which  together  with  improve- 
ments at  the  mouth  of  Raritan  river,  and  to  Arthur  Kull,  between  Staten 
Island  and  the  Jersey  Shore,  and  to  Kill  Von  Kull,  which  affords  direct 
communication  to  the  Upper  Bay  of  the  New  York  Harbor,  a  direct  water 
channel  will  be  provided  from  the  Port  of  New  York  to  Raritan  river; 
and  with  the  proper  development  of  the  Delaware  and  Raritan  canal  and 
Delaware   river,  a  most  important   link   of  the  proposed  Atlantic  and 
inland  waterway  would  be  effected. 

(11..) 


Address  by  Governor  Fort 


iv- 


-OUR  LARGEST  CITIES  J     THEIR    PRODUCTS  AND   THEIR   LOCATION  RELA- 
TIVE  TO    WATERWAYS 


Cities 

Manufacturing 
products,  an- 
nual value 

Waterway 

River 

Canal 

$150,055, 227 
29, 300, 801 

8,916.983 
14,077,305 
75, 740,934 
32,  719,945 

33.587.273 
60,633,761 
22, 782, 725 
54,673,083 
6,684, 173 
34,  800,  402 

Passaic 

Morris. 

Elizabeth 

Elizabeth 

Raritan 

D.  &  R. 

Hudson 

Jersey  City     

Hudson 

Morris. 

Trenton 

Delaware 

D.  &  R. ;  feeder  to  D.  &  R. ;   Del 

Delaware 

&  Pa. 

Newark  bay 

Passaic 

Passaic _ 

Morris. 

Philli  psburg 

Perth  Amboy 

Delaware 

Morris:  Del.  &  Pa. 

Raritan,     Arthur     Kull, 
Raritan  bay. 

V — OUR  TRANSPORTATION  PROBLEM ;    COMPARISON  OF  COST  OF  WATER  AND 

RAIL   TRAFFIC 

In  making  any  comparison  of  the  cost  of  transportation  by  water  and 
rail,  we  must  consider  transportation  as  applied  to  navigable  rivers  and 
deep  waterways  such  as  oceans,  bays,  sounds  and  estuaries,  as  separate 
and  distinct  from  transportation  as  applied  to  large  and  small  artificial 
waterways  and  canals  and  canalized  rivers;  as  the  depth  of  water  governs 
the  size  and  tonnage  of  vessels,  which  of  course  also  govern  the  cost. 

That  the  cost  of  transportation  by  water  in  large  vessels  or  deep  water- 
ways has  proven  to  be  cheaper  than  transportation  by  rail  is  uncontra- 
dicted; so  that  a  comparison  need  only  be  drawn  between  the  cost  of 
transportation  on  canals  and  navigable  rivers  and  the  cost  of  transporta- 
tion by  railroads. 

The  average  cost  per  ton-mile  of  moving  freight  by  rail  in  the  United 
States  is  about  six  mills. 

Taking  a  tonnage  of  3,000,000  (1,500,000  east-bound  and  west-bound) 
per  season  of  270  days,  on  a  canal  similar  to  the  Delaware  and  Raritan, 
at  a  speed  of  2>h  miles  per  hour,  operating  24  hours  per  day,  including  all 
charges,  interest,  maintenance,  etc.,  but  not  including  cost  of  lockage 
and  maintaining  the  canal  proper  (the  figures  having  been  arrived 
at  from  electric  operation  of  the  Lehigh  canal  at  Mauch  Chunk  during 
five  months  of  1907,  by  tests  of  electric  haulage  on  Erie  Canal  in  1905, 
and  from  the  report  by  Sympher,  Chief  Engineer  of  Canals  and  Water- 
ways of  Germany,  assisted  by  Engineers  Thiel  and  Block,  as  given  to 
the  German  Government  on  haulage  for  the  Rhein-Weiser  Canal),  the 
estimated  cost  per  ton-mile  =  2T3^  mills. 

To  this  must  be  added  toll  charge  to  cover  expense  of  employees  to 
maintain  and  operate  locks  and  canals,  as  well  as  taxes  and  interest  on 
value  of  property. 

(113) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

As  an  illustration  of  the  economy  in  water  transportation  as  compared 
with  rail  transportation,  let  us  take  the  pounds  pull  exerted  in  moving  a 
freight  train  of  25  cars  weighing  500  tons  loaded  with  1,000  tons  of  coal, 
giving  a  total  weight  of  train  of  1,500  tons.  We  find  that  it  would 
require  a  locomotive  weighing  over  100  tons  to  properly  handle  such  a 
train  on  level  track.  We  further  find  that  the  pull  exerted  to  move  this 
train  at  a  speed  of  four  miles  an  hour  is  about  the  same  as  at  twenty 
miles  per  hour;  i.  e. ,  the  pull  is  higher  at  the  slow  speed  and  decreases  until 
a  speed  of  about  ten  miles  per  hour  is  reached  and  then  increases  again 
as  the  higher  speeds  are  reached.  We  find  that  this  engine  exerts  a 
draw-bar  pull  of  about  12,000  pounds  in  hauling  this  train. 

On  the  other  hand,  take  a  cargo  of  1 ,000  tons  in  two  of  the  large  modern 
canal  barges  weighing  each  100  tons  and  giving  a  total  load  of  1,200  tons 
in  boats  and  cargo.  We  find  that  the  pull  necessary  to  move  this  com- 
bined load  of  1,200  tons  at  a  speed  of  3^  to  4  miles  per  hour  on  a  canal 
of  fair  dimensions  would  be  only  4,800  pounds,  which  it  will  be  noted  is 
only  a  little  over  a  third  of  that  exerted  by  the  locomotive.  This 
economy  is  due  to  the  less  resistance  in  the  movement  of  boats  through 
water;  also  to  the  fact  that  the  weight  of  the  boats  is  very  much  less 
than  the  weight  of  the  cars — that  is  the  dead  load  is  less  for  the  same 
cargo  carried.  This  comparison  is  best  illustrated  to  the  mind  when 
one  thinks  of  the  small  electric  adhesion  tractor,  weighing  only  about 
three  tons,  as  compared  with  a  mammoth  100-ton  locomotive;  the 
former  hauling  a  1 ,000-ton  cargo  by  water,  the  latter  a  1 ,000-ton  cargo 
by  rail. 

VI — THE    MODERN    METHOD    OF   CANAL    OPERATION 

In  this  country  but  little  has  been  accomplished  to  improve  the  method 
of  propulsion  on  our  artificial  waterways.  Excepting  an  extremely 
small  percentage  operated  by  steam,  the  same  method  of  propulsion  as 
existed  in  1800,  viz:  the  mule,  has  continued  in  operation  up  to  the 
present  date.  The  Old  World  has  much  to  teach  the  New  in  the  improve- 
ment, development,  conduct  and  utilization  of  inland  waterways  as  a 
useful  auxiliary  to  its  existing  railways. 

I  will  not  recite  at  length  the  experience  of  France,  Germany,  Belgium 
and  Holland  in  the  creation  and  conduct  of  interior  navigation,  even 
though  I  have  no  doubt  such  a  recital  would  contain  data  of  great  value 
to  this  Conference.  All  the  data  can,  however,  be  obtained  from  the 
Consular  Reports.  It  is  sufficient  for  me  to  call  your  attention  to  the 
fact  that  in  strong  contrast  with  our  policy  in  this  matter  in  the  past,  the 
French  and  German  Governments,  recognizing  the  importance  of  aiding 
in  the  development  of  their  interior  waterways,  have  rendered  financial 
assistance  not  only  in  the  construction  and  betterment  of  these  utilities, 

(«4) 


Address  by  Governor  Fort 


but  also  in  making  tests  of  the  different  methods  of  propulsion.  These 
tests,  which  have  been  made  by  eminent  engineers  who  have  been  officially 
engaged  in  this  work,  lead  up  to  the  following  conclusions: 

i.  Barges  operating  with  their  own  motive  power  show  a  much  poorer 
economy  than  barges  being  towed. 

2.  Barges  with  storage  battery  show  the  least  favorable  results. 

3.  Towing  by  steam  tugs  or  electric  locomotives  show  practically  the 
same  economy.  However,  with  the  increase  of  traffic,  electric  towing 
costs  decrease,  while  the  cost  of  steam  towing  remains  constant. 

4.  The  question  of  prompt  loading  and  unloading  is  very  important 
in  the  saving  of  day-time  on  barges.  With  electric  haulage  installations, 
the  available  electric  power  furnishes  cheap  and  convenient  motive  power 
for  the  operation  of  loading  and  discharging  apparatus,  and  also  for  the 
operation  of  locks  and  elevators,  thus  decreasing  the  idle  time  of  barges. 

From  these  conclusions  it  is  apparent  that  we,  too,  must  look  to  electric 
power  for  the  successful  operation  of  our  canals  and  canalized  rivers.  It 
is  apparent  that  in  order  expeditiously  and  economically  to  handle  the 
immense  tonnage  which  may  be  expected  if  our  canals  are  operated 
under  the  liberal  policy  as  advocated  by  this  Conference,  their  electri- 
fication must  ensue.  But,  until  this  greater  traffic  is  developed,  it  will 
be  necessary  to  provide  a  modified  and  cheaper  form  of  installation  to 
profitably  carry  the  tonnage  of  the  first  few  years  until  its  increase 
will  warrant  the  heavier  carrying  charges  incident  to  the  installation  of 
electric  motive  power. 

To  attain  this  end  an  adhesion  tractor  operated  by  a  gasoline  motor 
has  been  developed  in  this  country  which  will  operate  on  the  same 
mono-rail  track  as  the  electrically  operated  tractor,  so  that  when  the 
traffic  of  the  canal  has  reached  a  volume  sufficient  to  justify  its  electri- 
fication, the  electric  motor  may  be  substituted  for  the  gasoline  motor 
without  any  further  change  whatever  in  the  installation.  Practice 
indicates  that  when  the  traffic  is  below  about  three-quarters  of  a  million 
tons  annually,  a  gasoline  tractor  will  prove  a  more  economical  installa- 
tion; whereas,  for  tonnage  in  excess  of  these  amounts  an  electrically 
operated  tractor  is  unquestionably  more  economical  and  efficient. 

VII OUR    BOARDS    OF    TRADE,    CHAMBERS    OF    COMMERCE    AND    KINDRED 

ASSOCIATIONS 

The  question  of  Inland  Waterways  has  aroused  the  interest  of  the 
entire  State  of  New  Jersey.  The  rapid  growth  and  development  of  our 
industries  during  the  past  few  years  and  the  commercial  prosperity  we 
have  enjoyed  have  prompted  our  State  and  municipal  officials  and  trade 
organizations,  as  well  as  our  leading  men  of  affairs,  to  advocate  the 
improvement  of  our  waterways.     New  Jersey  is  a  unit  on  this  question. 

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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


A  great  variety  of  solutions  has  been  offered,  and  others  are  being 
planned,  which,  if  carried  out,  will  eventually  make  our  State  a  network 
of  waterways. 

We  have  in  our  State  a  Rivers  and  Harbors  Congress  modelled  after 
the  National  Rivers  and  Harbors  Congress,  which  will  serve  to  concen- 
trate all  the  influences  at  work  within  our  State  into  one  working  organ- 
ization. The  New  Jersey  Congress  has  been  organized  so  as  to  provide 
for  one  vice-president  from  each  congressional  district ,  while  the  Board 
of  Directors  is  comprised  of  representative  men  of  affairs. 

In  the  conduct  of  this  association,  it  is  arranged  that  each  congres- 
sional district  through  its  representative  shall  report  on  improvements 
desired,  and,  if  after  investigation  it  is  determined  that  the  improve- 
ments requested  will  produce  beneficial  results,  the  Rivers  and  Harbors 
Congress  will  lend  its  endorsement  and  assistance.  This  Congress  does 
not  purpose  favoring  any  particular  locality ,  but  rather  the  intention  is 
to  work  on  broad  and  comprehensive  lines  for  the  best  interests  of  both 
State  and  Nation.  It  is  hardly  necessary  for  me  to  say  that  this  plan  is 
meeting  with  the  universal  approval  of  the  citizens  of  New  Jersey. 

The  work  which  is  being  planned  to  develop  the  waterways  contigu- 
ous to  the  city  of  Newark — the  manufactured  products  of  which  cover 
every  field  of  industrial  endeavor — is  worthy  of  special  mention  at  this 
time.  Working  in  harmony  with  the  Board  of  Trade,  the  Board  of 
Works  of  Newark  purpose  the  construction  of  a  ship  canal  in  the  meadows 
contiguous  to  Newark  bay,  which  will  serve  to  reclaim  and  develop  this 
now  practically  useless  swamp  land.  From  an  industrial  point  of  view, 
the  provision  which  is  being  made  for  a  series  of  meadow  terminals, 
with  manufacturing  adjuncts,  is  perhaps  the  most  important  matter  now 
receiving  attention  in  our  State.  There  are  four  ways  of  utilizing  the 
meadows : 

i .  Terminals  for  railroads 

2.  Terminals  for  steamships 

3.  Warehouses  at  these  joint  terminals 

4.  Manufacturing  sites  on  the  land  adjacent  thereto 

In  connection  with  this  undertaking,  the  construction  of  a  ship  chan- 
nel from  Newark  bay  to  Hudson  river,  which  work  is  now  being  done 
by  the  United  States  War  Department,  will  operate  to  make  the  waters 
of  the  Newark  bay  accessible  to  the  shipping  of  the  world. 

Still  another  waterway  improvement  to  which  I  feel  your  attention 
should  be  called  is  that  of  the  construction  of  a  tide-water  way  from 
Manasquan  inlet  to  Bay  Head.  Surveys  of  this  waterway  have  already 
been  made.  This  improvement  will  create  a  harbor  at  Manasquan  inlet 
and  provide  a  waterway  from  this  point  to  Cape  May.  The  desirability 
of  this  improvement  in  connection  with  the  Bay  Head-Cape  May  canal 


Address  by  Governor  Fort 


is  evident  to  all  who  have  any  knowledge  of  the  New  Jersey  coast.  New 
Jersey  appropriated  $300,000  for  this  improvement  at  the  session  of  the 
legislature  just  ended. 

But  a  few  short  years  ago  the  coast  line  of  New  Jersey  from  Sandy 
Hook  to  Cape  May  was  a  series  of  barren  sand-dunes  and  land-locked 
waterways.  With  no  financial  assistance  from  the  State,  the  enterprise 
of  our  citizens  has  created  seashore  resorts  at  which  an  annual  expendi- 
ture of  many  millions  of  dollars  is  made  by  the  citizens  of  this  Nation 
who  visit  these  resorts  in  search  of  health  and  recreation. 

VIII — RECOMMENDATIONS 

I  believe  this  Conference  should  use  the  utmost  deliberation  in  out- 
lining the  policy  to  be  pursued,  and  that  we  should  plan  with  great  care, 
with  the  knowledge  that  whatever  we  do  at  this  time  will  affect  the 
future  material  welfare  of  our  Nation ;  therefore — 

I  recommend  that  each  State  having  water  facilities  within  or  con- 
tiguous to  its  borders  should  appoint  a  Waterways  Commission,  in  which 
engineering  ability  should  predominate,  to  carefully  investigate  and 
make  physical  examinations  of  existing  waterways,  and,  after  consul- 
tation with  the  State  organizations  for  waterway  improvement  and  the 
various  boards  of  trade  and  commercial  bodies,  to  arrive  at  some  defi- 
nite conclusions  upon  which  to  recommend  plans  for  improving  these 
waterways,  either  as  feeders  to,  or  as  component  parts  of,  the  contem- 
plated deeper  waterways  plan  which  has  been  outlined  by  the  various 
commissions  in  the  past  and  by  the  present  Inland  Waterways  Com- 
mission.    Immediate  action  is  earnestly  recommended  in  this  matter. 


Governor  Woodruff  :  Mr  President,  we  have  in  Connecticut  a  Uni- 
versity which  is  advancing  forestry  interests;  it  has  a  Department  of 
Forestry.  We  have  here  with  us  today  its  president,  Professor  Hadley 
[applause],  and  I  am  sure  he  can  tell  you  something  in  reference  to  what 
Yale  is  doing  for  the  interest  of  forestry.  I  should  like  very  much  to 
have  the  Conference  hear  from  Mr  Hadley.     [Applause] 

Address  by  Arthur  T.  Hadley 

PRESIDENT   OF   YALE    UNIVERSITY 

Mr  President,  Gentlemen: 

When  we  first  started  our  forestry  school  at  Yale,  eight  years  ago, 
things  looked  darker  than  they  now  look.  It  did  not  seem  as  though 
there  was  any  interest  in  forestry  at  all.     We  worked  with  Mr  Pinchot, 

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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


here  in  Washington,  and  acting  under  his  advice  developed  a  school 
which  should  not  only  teach  forest  botany,  but  which  should  teach  forest 
economy,  and  forest  economy  adapted  to  American  conditions.  [Ap- 
plause] Our  fear  in  the  establishment  of  that  school  was  that  there 
would  not  be  demand  enough  for  the  graduates.  The  numbers  have 
increased  until  now  we  are  sending  out  each  year  from  thirty  to  forty 
men,  trained  in  the  actual  business  conditions  of  American  forestry, 
besides  giving  instruction  in  summer  to  a  large  number  of  practical 
forest  men  in  certain  of  the  theoretical  parts  of  the  work.  The  growth 
of  demand  for  these  men  has  been  so  unexpectedly  rapid  that  I  feel  sure 
that  if  this  assembly  can  manage  to  tide  over  the  dangerous  time  of  the 
next  twenty  years,  after  that  the  thing  will  take  care  of  itself.  The 
people  will  get  such  new  conceptions  of  forestry  and  of  the  demand  for 
lumber  that,  on  mere  business  grounds,  forest  preservation  in  expert 
hands  will  take  care  of  itself  as  a  matter  of  course. 

But  just  now  it  is  for  an  assembly  like  this  to  make  the  demand  before 
we  reach  the  dead  point,  instead  of  waiting  until  that  comes.  How  can 
we  do  it?  First,  by  working  in  our  own  States  in  the  way  that  the 
Governors  in  their  speeches,  and  the  experts  in  their  speeches,  have 
indicated;  and  still  more  I  think  by  putting  pressure  on  the  National 
Government  in  favor  of  the  extension  of  forest  reservation  in  every 
possible  way.  [Applause]  Powerful  as  we  are  in  our  own  States,  an 
assembly  like  this,  called  by  the  President,  is  yet  more  powerful  in 
carrying  the  public  opinion  of  the  country  with  it;  and  we  stand  here 
for  the  principle  that  our  Government  should  not  be  a  Government  for 
the  interest  of  individuals,  not  even  a  Government  for  the  temporary 
interests  of  the  country,  but  a  Government  for  the  permanent  interests 
of  the  whole  country.     [Applause] 

Second,  we  have  it  in  our  power  also,  as  has  been  suggested,  to  make 
intelligent  forestry  by  individuals  more  profitable  than  it  is  today. 
[Applause]  Suggestions  have  been  made  regarding  possible  changes  in 
tax  laws.  I  shall  not  try  to  repeat  them.  But  by  the  appointment  of 
committees,  by  the  exchange  of  expert  opinions,  a  body  like  this  can 
make  a  great  many  things  that  do  not  quite  pay  today,  and  yet  are 
overwhelmingly  for  the  public  interest,  pay  five  or  ten  years  hence. 
The  margin  between  business  that  succeeds  and  business  that  fails  is  a 
narrow  one,  and  by  just  covering  that  margin  by  differences  in  tax  laws, 
by  differences  in  protective  laws,  by  laws  for  the  prevention  of  fires,  we 
can  make  profitable  an  industry  which  the  public  needs,  but  which 
today  is  unprofitable. 

.  I  believe,  Gentlemen,  you  have  it  in  your  hands  to  put  this  great 
national  work  when-  twenty  years  hence  it  will  take  care  of  itself.  [Ap- 
plause] 


(118) 


Address  by  Governor  Glenn 


The  Presiding  Officer  (Governor  Johnson)  :  Governor  Glenn  is 
called  for.     [Applause] 

Address  by  Robert  B.  Glenn 

GOVERNOR   OF   NORTH   CAROLINA 

Mr  President,  Governors,  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Conference: 

In  the  language  of  one  of  the  greatest  sages  and  statesmen  of  this 
Union,  Grover  Cleveland,  [applause]  today  "A  condition  and  not  a 
theory  confronts  us."  We  have  just  heard  from  the  very  able  paper  of 
the  vigorous  and  patriotic  President  of  the  United  States  [great  applause] 
something  as  to  our  duty  in  conserving  our  resources;  and  we  have  also 
heard  from  the  exhaustive  papers  of  Mr  Carnegie,  Mr  Hill,  and  others, 
that  something  must  be  done,  and  done  at  once,  to  preserve  the  natural 
resources  of  this  great  Nation. 

Now,  Mr  President,  what  has  produced  this  condition?  If  you  have 
listened  attentively  to  these  papers,  you  have  learned  that  our  forests 
are  being  denuded ;  our  land  is  being  washed  away  and  made  worthless ; 
our  water  powers  are  exhausted;  our  harbors  are  filling  up  with  silt, 
thereby  paralyzing  our  commerce — and  something  must  be  done  to  stop 
this  waste  and  extravagance  and  to  bring  forward  a  remedy,  else  this 
great  Nation  can  not  go  forward  in  the  future  as  it  is  doing  today. 

What  is  the  most  serious  of  all  these  terrible  conditions  now  confront- 
ing our  People?  I  can  answer  in  almost  one  word.  It  is  the  failure  of 
the  People  throughout  the  States  to  protect  the  great  forest  industry  of 
our  country.  [Applause]  This  is  one  of  the  chief  sources  if  not  the 
greatest  source  of  all  the  ills  of  which  we  have  just  heard.  Our  People, 
regardless  of  the  future,  have  been  living  only  for  the  present,  thinking 
of  themselves  and  not  of  their  children  and  their  childrens'  children, 
thinking  selfishly  and  not  as  patriots  should  and  ought  to  think.  Lum- 
bermen are  going  into  these  forests  today  and  wastefully  destroying 
them.  Following  fast,  in  their  wake  comes  another  class  of  timber 
hunters,  after  pulp  and  bark  for  tannic  acid;  and  behind  these,  as  a  still 
greater  curse,  comes  the  vandal  with  his  torch,  destroying  even  the 
shrubs  and  leaves  that  are  left  by  those  who  have  gone  before.  Taking 
them  together — the  lumberman,  the  pulp-man,  the  acid  hunter,  and 
the  vandals — they  constitute  a  great  army  that  is  fast  bringing  our 
forests  to  waste  and  destroying  the  industries  of  our  country.  And  this 
vandalism  must  be  stayed.  There  must  be  an  end  to  this  waste,  or  else 
dire  distress  must  be  the  portion  of  our  People.  Unless  it  is  stayed, 
there  is  no  hope  for  preserving  our  resources  or  protecting  our  soil. 
Our  forests  denuded,  our  trees  gone;  no  longer  any  decaying  matter  or 
leaves  as  sponges  to  take  up  the  rains  as  they  fall  from  heaven.     What, 

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Sir,  is  the  result?  The  rain  comes  down  on  the  rocks  and  barren  soil, 
runs  into  the  little  crevices  and  channels  until,  becoming"  a  mighty  tor- 
rent, it  rushes  into  the  branches  and  creeks,  causing  them  to  overflow 
their  banks;  and  they  in  turn  rush  on  into  the  rivers  with  the  same  dire 
consequences,  carrying  everything  before  them.  What  then  do  we  see? 
No  longer  water  trickling  through  the  leaves  and  falling  gently  into  the 
creeks  and  rivers,  but  instead  a  roaring  flood  sweeping  everything 
before  it. 

The  Secretary  of  Agriculture  of  the  United  States  says  that  in  1901 
and  1902  the  damage  done  by  reason  of  this  denudation  of  forests 
amounted  in  the  Appalachian  section  to  $18,000,000.  This  may  have 
been  an  extraordinary  year,  but  I  can  say  today  with  truth  that  the 
damage  to  this  section  will  average  year  in  and  year  out  from  seven  to 
eight  million  dollars.  The  streams,  being  filled  by  the  water  carrying 
trash  and  silt  and  gravel  into  them,  are  made  level  with  their  banks, 
and  it  takes  only  a  little  rain  to  overflow  everything,  and  as  it  comes 
rushing  down  it  meets  an  obstacle.  What  is  that  obstacle?  It  is  the 
obstacle  of  a  dam  erected  by  the  manufacturer,  or  by  the  man  who  is 
making  electric  power  for  the  purpose  of  communicating  this  power  to 
machinery,  or  for  lighting  cities.  Those  dams  fill  up,  and  what  happens? 
The  arm  of  industry  is  paralyzed.  The  employees  for  the  time  being 
are  thrown  out  of  employment,  and  hundreds  and  thousands  of  dollars 
are  wasted  and  lost.  The  difference  between  the  cost  of  steam  and 
water  power,  at  the  very  lowest  estimate,  is  $10.00  per  horse-power. 
The  lowest  estimate  made  in  regard  to  the  water  power  ruined  in  New 
Hampshire  and  the  South  is  one  million  horse-power,  which  is  equiva- 
lent to  $10,000,000  per  annum.  The  highest  estimate  is  3,000,000  horse- 
power, which  means  $30,000,000  per  annum  to  the  manufacturers  of 
the  White  Mountain  and  Appalachian  section. 

And  is  this  all?  No,  Sir!  This  sand,  coming  down  and  filling  up  the 
rivers,  is  then  emptied  into  the  harbors,  and  it  requires  millions  of  dollars 
to  clean  them  out,  else  navigation  is  impeded  and  commerce  is  stopped, 
while  if  we  would  only  lay  our  hands  upon  the  source  of  all  this  evil — 
the  denuding  of  our  forests — and  stop  this  vandalism,  navigation,  com- 
merce, manufactories,  and  land,  would  all  be  preserved  and  benefited. 

There  must  be  some  remedy  for  this,  Mr  President,  and  that  remedy 
should  come  alike  from  the  States  and  the  Nation.  The  States  should 
go  hand  in  hand  with  each  other,  the  Nation  helping  all.     [Great  applause] 

Last  night  at  a  banquet  given  to  the  Governors  of  this  Conference, 
Speaker  Cannon  said  the  townships  should  commence  this  work,  then 
the  counties,  then  the  State,  and  as  a  last  and  final  resort  the  Nation  be 
called  upon  for  help  and  succor.  Mr  President,  the  townships  of  the 
various  Slates,  the  counties  of  the  various  States,  and  the  States  them- 

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Address  by  Governor  Glenn 


selves  have  already  acted.  We  have  cleaned  out  our  little  creeks  and 
rivers;  stopped  the  cutting  of  our  timber  by  indictment,  and  tried  to 
protect  our  great  resources  as  best  we  could.  But  the  States  by  them- 
selves are  helpless.  The  arm  of  the  Nation  must  be  used  to  aid  the 
People,  or  else  we  can  not  get  relief.  [Applause]  A  State  can  control 
intra-state  commerce,  but  a  State  is  powerless  to  control  interstate 
commerce.  So  likewise  a  State  can  control  intra-state  destruction, 
but  a  State  is  powerless  to  control  and  regulate  interstate  destruction. 
[Applause] 

Let  me  see  if  I  can  make  myself  clear.  Look  at  the  map  of  North 
Carolina.  On  the  top  of  its  mountains  four  great  rivers  have  their  heads. 
One  goes  into  the  Ohio,  one  into  the  Mississippi,  one  into  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  and  the  other  into  the  Atlantic,  running  through  the  States  of 
South  Carolina,  Georgia,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Tennessee  and  Ohio. 
Now  North  Carolina  could  buy  this  land  and  stop  this  destruction  to  the 
other  States;  but  suppose  North  Carolina  refused  to  do  so?  The  other 
States  would  be  helpless.  Or  suppose  North  Carolina  was  willing  to  do 
so,  and  the  other  States  refused  to  act;  what  relief  would  come?  But 
when  the  great  Nation — the  mother  of  all — takes  charge  of  these  vast 
forest  preserves,  stops  the  waste  therein  and  opens  up  all  our  streams 
running  through  the  different  States,  then  will  the  benefit  be  felt  by  all 
and  protection  come  to  all. 

I  think,  Mr  President,  there  is  relief  in  a  bill  now  pending  in  Congress, 
and  which  if  passed  promises  to  remedy  this  condition ;  [applause]  and  I 
say  to  the  members  of  the  Senate  and  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
that  if  they  will  only  pass  that  bill,  every  State  Government  from  Maine 
to  Texas  and  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  coast  will  cooperate  with  this 
Government  in  bringing  about  a  condition  of  things  that  would  build  up 
our  Nation,  and  make  it,  as  it  is  entitled  to  be,  the  greatest  Nation  on 
earth.     [Great  applause] 

Since  1899  up  to  the  present  time,  we  have  been  coming  before  Con- 
gress asking  relief.  Five  times,  representing  my  State,  have  I  been  here 
in  its  name,  knocking  at  the  doors  of  Congress  and  asking  help.  Each 
time  they  have  put  us  off,  saying  "  Not  now,  but  next  session."  When, 
Mr  President,  is  the  next  session  to  come?  [Laughter  and  applause] 
Will  they  wait  until  all  our  forests  are  cut  down  and  denuded ;  until  all 
the  lands  along  our  rivers  are  destroyed ;  until  the  rivers  themselves  are 
filled  up  with  mud  and  gravel,  our  manufactories  discontinued,  our  har- 
bors made  ineffectual,  and  our  commerce  paralyzed?  If  we  wait  until 
then,  Mr  President,  we  will  not  need  help.  We  want  it  now,  and  must 
have  it  now.     [Applause] 

This  Conference  ought  to  pass  a  resolution,  endorsed  by  every  Gov- 
ernor of  every  State,  demanding  that  this  present  Congress  no  longer 

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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

defer  this  matter,  but  that  even  in  the  short  time  yet  remaining  of  this 
session  they  pass  this  bill  that  means  so  much  to  the  happiness,  pros- 
perity, wealth,  and  power  of  all  our  people.     [Great  applause] 

Vox  Dei  is  calling  for  the  preservation  of  the  forests  for  humanity's 
sake,  for  health's  sake.  Vox  populi  is  calling  for  the  prevention  of  this 
waste,  for  manufacturing  purposes,  for  electrical  purposes,  for  commercial 
purposes — and  vox  Dei  and  vox  populi  shall  and  must  be  heard,  or  else 
we  give  fair  warning  to  Congress  that,  failing  to  listen  to  the  demands 
of  our  People  as  year  after  year  we  come  urging  its  members  to  do  their 
duty,  we  will  arise  in  our  might  and  select  men  who  will  listen,  and  give 
us  the  relief  demanded.     [Great  applause] 

Governors  of  the  great  West,  the  members  from  the  South  have  stood 
by  you  in  your  forest  preservation,  spending  millions  of  dollars  in  buying 
92,000,000  acres  of  land  west  of  the  Rockies  for  the  benefit  of  your 
people;  we  have  stood  by  you  in  all  the  acts  that  you  have  asked  looking 
to  irrigation,  [applause  and  cries  of  "That's  so!"]  thus  preserving  your 
farming  lands;  and  we  have  stood  by  you  in  every  solitary  thing  that 
the  great  West  has  deemed  necessary  for  its  upbuilding  and  its  glory. 
And  coming  today,  voicing  the  demands  of  Maine,  New  Hampshire, 
Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  Massachusetts,  New  York,  Pennsylvania, 
West  Virginia,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  Tennessee, 
Georgia,  Alabama  and  Mississippi,  I  plead  with  you  to  be  as  generous 
as  we  have  been  to  you,  and  come  to  our  relief  by  joining  with  us  in 
trying  to  save  our  section  from  this  waste  and  devastation  before  we  are 
ruined.     [Great  applause] 

We  will  plant  our  crops,  as  you  suggest;  we  will  sow  our  grasses  upon 
our  lands;  but,  Sir,  so  long  as  these  floods  come  tearing  down  into  our 
rivers  and  into  our  valleys,  the  crops  that  we  have  planted  are  absolutely 
worthless,  and  our  sowing  and  our  planting  are  in  vain.     [Applause] 

In  conclusion  I  desire  to  answer  one  remark  of  Speaker  Cannon  when 
a  committee  of  us  went  to  him  to  ask  that  he  let  our  bill  be  heard  on  the 
floor  of  the  House.  He  said  that  the  New  England  States  ought  to  form 
a  confederation,  and  the  Southern  States  form  a  confederation,  and  not 
trouble  the  Union — that  confederation,  and  not  money  from  the  National 
treasury,  ought  to  be  the  means  used  to  stop  this  waste  and  destruction. 
Now,  Mr  President,  I  can  not  answer  for  the  New  England  States,  but  I 
can  answer  for  the  South.  We  tried  Confederation  once,  and  we  found 
it  did  not  pay.  [Great  applause]  You  told  us  then  that  we  ought  to 
stay  in  the  Union,  and  then  we  could  get  all  we  wanted;  and  now  we 
have  come  into  the  Union  and  humbly  made  our  request,  showing  our 
needs — and  we  do  beg  that  we  shall  not  be  rebuffed  in  this  very  first  appli- 
cation thai  we  make  for  relief  by  bring  told  to  "confederate."  [Long-con- 
tinued applause  J     I  have  already  shown  how  a  confederation  of  the  States, 

(122) 


Address  by  Governor  Glenn 


unless  all  were  willing,  would  be  of  no  avail;  but  the  Union  being  higher 
than  all,  would  protect  the  respective  rights  of  each  in  fairness  and  justice 

We  do  not  come  as  paupers,  Mr  President.  Last  year  the  South  added 
$7,300,000  per  day  to  the  wealth  of  this  Nation.  We  made  12  000000 
bales  of  cotton  and  ourselves  used  2,750,000  of  these  bales'  Some 
9,346,000  spindles  made  sweet  music  in  our  mills;  71 ,000,000  tons  of  coal 
were  contributed  to  warming  our  country,  and  60,000,000  barrels  of  oil 
added  light  to  our  Nation.  Eighty  percent  of  all  the  cotton  raised  in 
the  world  is  raised  in  the  South;  75%  of  all  the  tobacco  is  likewise  raised 
there.  One-third  of  all  the  standing  timber  comes  from  our  section  and 
last  but  not  least,  we  raise  99%  of  all  the  peanuts  of  the  whole  world— 
so  essential  to  baseball,  football  and  circuses.  [Laughter]  For  five 
years  the  total  output  of  the  value  of  the  Southern  cotton  crop  has  ex- 
ceeded the  total  output  of  the  gold  and  silver  of  the  world,  $395  000  000 
We  therefore  come,  not  as  supplicants,  but  as  builders  and  preservers  of 
the  Nation.     [Applause] 

It  was  said  yesterday  by  a  distinguished  speaker  that  there  was  no 
North,  South,  East  or  West.     Today  I  say  to  you,  standing  here    the 
son  of  a  Confederate  soldier  who  died  for  the  Lost  Cause,  and  makin'o-  no 
apology  for  my  father,  who  did  what  he  thought  was  right,  and  did  what 
his  son  would  do  today  under  similar  circumstances,  that  I  yield  to  no 
Governor  in  this  Conference  in  my  love  for  the  Union  and  my  desire  to 
protect  and  upbuild  it  in  all  of  its  resources;  and  therefore  as  a  loyal 
Union  citizen— just  as  true  to  its  interests  as  any  man  born  in  the  North 
could  possibly  be-speaking  for  my  State  and  for  the  great  section  from 
which  I  hail,  I  ask  that  its  resources  be  preserved  and  its  wealth  be 
increased,  and  its  people  made  happy,  by  granting  to  us  the  little  pit- 
tance now  asked  for  the  preservation  of  our  forests  and  lands  our  water- 
ways and  our  harbors,  as  set  forth  in  the  bill  pending  before  the  present 
Congress.     [Great  and  prolonged  applause] 


The  Presiding  Officer   (Governor  Johnson)  :  Mr  La  Lanne  is  rec- 
ognized. 

Remarks  by  Frank  D.  La  Lanne 

PRESIDENT   OF   THE    NATIONAL    BOARD    OF   TRADE 

Mr  President: 

I  speak  for  the  National  Board  of  Trade,  now  40  years  old,  and  com- 
prising about  eighty  of  the  greatest  Commercial  Boards  of  our  country 
including  one  from  Hawaii  and  one  from  Porto  Rico.     Our  constituent 

(123) 
50254 — 09 11 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

members  represent  most  of  the  States,  so  we  are  as  deeply  interested  in 
the  preservation  of  our  natural  resources  as  such  great  interests  which 
we  represent  would  naturally  be.  Ever  since  our  organization  we  have 
worked  with  earnestness  before  Congressional  Committees  for  River  and 
Harbor  improvements;  we  have  voiced  our  approval,  Mr  President,  of 
your  wise  and  patriotic  appointment  of  the  Inland  Waterways  Commis- 
sion, whose  makeup  of  men  of  great  experience,  ability  and  telling  work 
the  whole  country  fully  values;  and  we  have  urgently  asked  our  Con- 
gressmen to  make  an  adequate  appropriation  for  its  continuance,  for  we 
believe  in  our  hearts  that  such  a  commission  is  the  best  instrument  for 
a  fair  distribution  of  its  fullest  share  of  appropriations  to  every  deserving 
project.  A  commission  of  this  kind  and  quality  we  believe  should 
always  be  in  existence  to  hear  the  demands  of  the  country  and  decide 
fairly  upon  their  merits.  Our  organization  has  for  years  been  outspoken 
before  committees  of  Congress  and  at  our  own  Conventions  for  forest 
preservation;  and  particularly  have  we  desired  action  taken  immediately 
for  the  forest  reserves  in  the  White  Mountains  and  the  Appalachians. 
As  an  earnest  of  our  influential  work  we  have  met  with  Mr  Pinchot  before 
the  last  Congressional  committees  to  give  his  splendid  work  all  the  help 
in  our  power. 

Our  most  willing  help  was  given  to  the  Lakes-to-Gulf  Deep  Waterways 
Conventions,  and  to  the  Atlantic  Deeper  Waterways  Association.  We 
also  sent  our  President  to  represent  us  at  the  National  Drainage  Associa- 
tion Congress  in  Washington,  D.  C,  May  12  of  this  year. 

The  Committee  on  Forestry  and  Irrigation  of  the  National  Board, 
being  headed  by  a  man  who  has  for  many  years  made  a  serious  study  of 
this  most  important  subject,  and  who  is  present  and  can  give  a  better 
idea  of  what  we  have  done,  I  ask  the  Chair  for  the  pleasure  of  presenting 
Colonel  William  S.  Harvey,  Chairman  of  the  Forestry  and  Irrigation 
Committee  of  the  National  Board  of  Trade. 


The  Presiding  Officer:  We  will  recognize  him  later  on.  Governor 
Davidson  of  Wisconsin  now  has  the  floor. 

■ 

Address  by  James  O.  Davidson 

GOVERNOR    OF   WISCONSIN 

Mr  President,  Governors,  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Conference: 

One  of  the  greatest  problems  with  which  the  people  of  this  country 
are  confronted  today  is  the  preservation  from  destruction  of  our  natural 
resources.     Few  countries  possess  natural  wealth  of  so  varied  a  nature 

(124) 


Address  by  Governor  Davidson 


and  of  such  immense  value,  yet  nowhere  has  the  use  of  this  wealth  been 
marked  with  less  foresight  and  more  indifference  on  the  part  of  the  public. 
For  years  scientists  and  students  of  our  natural  resources  have  sought 
to  call  attention  to  the  early  exhaustion  of  our  forests,  coal  and  mineral 
beds,  and  oil  wells,  to  the  great  permanent  injury  of  the  People.  But 
they,  busily  engaged  in  the  pursuit  of  their  various  occupations,  and, 
inspired  by  optimism,  feeling  that  somehow  matters  would  be  corrected, 
have  postponed  their  consideration  to  the  time  when  the  evil  should 
have  taken  a  more  concrete  and  urgent  form. 

To  no  State  in  the  Union  is  this  question  of  more  vital  importance  than 
to  the  State  of  Wisconsin.  But  a  few  decades  ago,  its  northern  and 
eastern  parts  represented  a  broad  forest,  broken  only  by  occasional 
sections  of  prairie.  Pine,  hemlock,  oak  and  maple  grew  in  such  abun- 
dance, it  was  the  proud  boast  that  Wisconsin  alone  could  supply  the 
entire  country  with  timber  for  a  century.  Amid  these  great  forests  were 
large  swamps  and  hundreds  of  small  lakes  from  which  deep,  swift  streams 
rushed  to  form  rivers  which  gave  their  volume  to  the  Mississippi.  With 
its  great  forest  wealth  and  its  immense  water  power,  Wisconsin,  like  its 
sister  States,  lived  only  in  the  immediate  present. 

Great  lumber  companies,  inspired  only  by  enthusiasm  and  too  often 
greed  which  knew  no  bounds,  attacked  these  forests,  each  in  a  mad  race 
to  strip  its  territory  and  market  its  timber  first;  then  to  move  forward 
and  continue  the  destruction.  No  tree  was  regarded  too  small  to  escape 
cutting.  Trunks  six  inches  in  diameter  were  cut  for  market  purposes. 
Millions  of  young  trees  and  saplings  which  were  too  small  for  commercial 
value  were  crushed  by  falling  timber,  or  were  cut  to  make  room  for 
logging  roads.  What  escaped  the  hand  of  the  logging  crew  fell  victim  to 
forest  fires,  which  counted  their  destruction  by  millions  of  dollars,  in 
further  evidence  of  the  carelessness  with  which  our  forest  tracts  were 
guarded. 

Today  we  are  beginning  to  pay  the  penalty  for  this  indifference.  Our 
proud  position  as  the  greatest  timber  State  of  the  Union  has  passed  to 
others.  Thousands  of  acres  of  land  of  no  value  for  agriculture  have  been 
rendered  bare  and  practically  without  a  market ;  our  swamps  are  becom- 
ing dry,  and  many  of  our  streams  are  shrinking  to  but  a  small  proportion 
of  their  former  size.  The  destruction  of  our  forests  has  taken  from  us 
that  great  regulator  of  the  streams,  for  with  no  forest  to  protect  the  head- 
waters of  rivers  and  to  detain  the  water  in  the  soil,  we  frequently  have 
freshets  and  floods  and  are  confronted  with  the  problem  of  dealing  with 
rapidly  rising  and  falling  stream-volume.  Wisconsin  has,  however,  now 
awakened  to  its  duty  to  the  public.  Through  liberal  and  wise  policies 
of  its  Legislature  it  has  dealt  with  this  problem  in  a  scientific  and  com- 
prehensive manner.     It  created  the  first  State  Forest  Commission  ever 


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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


appointed  by  any  of  the  States,  which  has  already  developed  into  a 
Board  whose  labor  is  characterized  by  a  continuous,  constant,  and 
progressive  policy  of  forestry  administration.  Adequate  powers  have 
been  given  by  statute  to  this  body,  and  ample  appropriation  has  been 
made  to  insure  their  successful  exercise. 

Under  these  laws  much  progress  in  forestry  work  has  been  made.  The 
damage  which  was  ruthlessly  committed  will  require  more  than  a  gen- 
eration to  mend,  but  it  is  believed  that  a  thoughtful  public  interest  has 
been  aroused,  and  that  the  strong  work  of  restoration  will  be  generously 
aided.  Vast  tracts  of  public  lands  have  been  made  forest  reserves. 
Agriculturally  profitable  land  has  been  sold,  and  the  proceeds  used  to 
extend  the  reserves  in  less  fertile  soil.  The  United  States  Government 
has  added  a  large  tract,  aimed  to  protect  the  headwaters  of  our  large 
rivers;  while  lumber  companies,  recognizing  the  wise  policy  of  the  State, 
have  dedicated  to  the  forest  reserve  several  thousand  acres.  Appro- 
priations have  been  made  to  enable  the  State  to  preserve  certain  tax- 
title  lands  to  add  to  these  reserves,  while  the  tax  laws  have  been  so 
altered  as  to  relieve  the  burden  of  tax  upon  lands  planted  with  trees; 
and  it  is  hoped  that  laws  will  be  passed  encouraging  owners  to  cut  timber 
conservatively  under  forestry  regulation,  rather  than  oblige  them  to  cut 
quickly  as  possible  to  escape  the  injustice  of  taxation. 

Under  these  laws  Wisconsin  has  acquired  over  300,000  acres,  which  is 
constantly  being  extended.  It  has  been  the  policy  to  concentrate  these 
holdings  in  those  counties  having  the  greatest  number  of  lakes  feeding 
into  large  streams,  and  in  some  counties  the  State  now  so  holds  10%  of 
the  entire  land  area.  These  large  reserves  are  maintaining  a  timber 
supply,  will  provide  great  parks  for  pleasure  seekers,  and  most  important 
of  all,  will  protect  the  many  water  powers,  and  with  them  the  greatest 
manufacturing  interests  of  the  State. 

For  the  further  protection  of  its  water  powers  the  legislature  has 
authorized  corporations  to  erect  a  series  of  storage  reservoirs  on  certain 
streams,  thus  producing  a  uniform  flow  of  water  through  the  season.  The 
State  Board  of  Forestry  determines  where  dams  shall  be  built,  their 
height,  the  amount  of  land  which  shall  be  overflowed,  and  the  time  and 
manner  in  which  the  water  shall  be  drawn  from  the  reservoirs.  Upon 
certain  storage  capacity  being  realized,  the  holders  are  permitted  to 
charge  reasonable  tolls  for  the  water  used,  which  tolls  shall  not  exceed  a 
net  annual  return  of  6%  on  the  cash  capital  paid  in.  The  capital  of 
these  companies  and  the  rates  charged  are  under  the  strict  regulation  of 
the  vState  Railroad  Commission.  In  all  these  provisions  the  rights  of 
the  public  are  strongly  safeguarded,  and  in  addition  there  has  been 
reserved  to  the  State  the  right  to  take  over  all  such  reservoir  property  at 
a  fair  valuation.     Xo  other  State  has  such  a  comprehensive  code  of  laws 

(126) 


Address  by  Governor  Davidson 


for  the  regulation  of  private  corporations  owning  reservoirs  and  water 
powers,  and  therefore  this  point  is  especially  called  to  the  attention  of 
this  Conference. 

Forestry  is  a  new  science  in  America.  No  country  has  greater  need 
for  the  adoption  of  its  teachings.  Nowhere  are  the  conditions  for  a 
broad  forestry  policy  more  favorable.  The  National  and  State  govern- 
ments still  possess  millions  of  acres  of  rich  forests,  a  part  of  which  should 
be  preserved  for  the  benefit  of  future  generations.  When  it  is  once 
thoroughly  understood  that  scientific  forestry  does  not  mean  the  with- 
holding of  valuable  agricultural  soil,  but  only  the  retention  for  timber 
of  such  lands  as  are  less  profitable  for  other  purposes,  it  is  difficult  to 
conceive  of  any  sound  arguments  against  it.  The  public  forests  are 
public  reserves,  and  should  be  protected  for  the  benefit  of  the  public  and 
enlarged  as  conditions  permit.  When  timber  shall  have  ceased  to  be 
available  for  fuel  purposes,  when  coal  beds  shall  have  approached 
exhaustion,  it  is  in  the  great  forest  tracts  that  we  will  find  the  conserva- 
tors of  the  substitute  for  fuel — water  power;  and  in  addition,  this  will 
rank  as  a  prolific  source  of  public  revenue. 


Governor  Folk :  Mr  President,  I  move  that  the  Conference  do  now 
adjourn. 

The  motion  was  seconded  by  several  voices. 

The  Presiding  Officer  (Governor  Johnson):  Before  taking  action 
on  that  motion:  the  Committee  on  Resolutions  requests  that  all  resolu- 
tions to  be  presented  be  handed  to  the  Committee  this  morning,  in  order 
that  a  proper  report  may  be  made. 

Acting  Secretary  Newell:  I  have  been  requested  to  ask  all  speakers 
whose  names  appear  on  the  program,  whether  they  have  already  spoken 
or  not,  to  present  themselves  in  front  of  the  White  House  immediately 
on  adjournment,  for  the  purpose  of  having  their  photographs  taken; 
and  in  addition  to  what  the  Presiding  Officer  announced  this  morning 
with  regard  to  Mr  Pinchot's  reception,  I  wish  to  say  that  Mr  Pinchot 
authorizes  me  to  say  that  the  reception  is  open  to  the  Conferees  in 
general,  and  whether  or  not  he  has  an  invitation  any  member  of  the 
Conference  will  be  welcome. 

Thereupon,  at  i  :io  oclock  p.  m.,  the  Conference  took  a  recess  until 
2 :30  oclock  p.  m. 


(127) 


Fourth  Session 

The  Fourth  Session  of  the  Conference  was  called  to  order  at  2 :45  p.  m., 
May  14,  1908,  in  the  East  Room  of  the  White  House  by  the  President  of 
the  United  States. 

The  President:  This  afternoon,  when  I  leave,  Governor  Deneen  of 
Illinois  will  take  the  chair. 

We  will  listen  first  to  ex-Governor  Pardee  of  California. 

Governor  ForT:  Mr  President,  before  we  start  the  regular  exercises, 
may  I  make  a  motion?  I  am  compelled  to  leave,  and  would  like  the 
privilege  of  having  put  in  the  Proceedings  the  short  address  I  have  pre- 
pared on  the  waterway  question  touching  my  own  State,  and  which  is 
now  in  the  hands  of  the  stenographers. 

The  President:  Governor  Fort  is  obliged  to  leave  this  afternoon,  and 
asks  that  the  address  which  he  has  prepared  upon  the  waterways  of  New 
Jersey  shall  be  put  in  the  Proceedings.  I  assume  that  there  will  be  no 
objection.  Is  there  objection?  [After  a  pause]  There  being  no 
objection,  it  will  be  so  put. 

[The  address  appears  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Third  Session] 

Mr  Bryan:  Is  it  not  probable  that  a  number  of  these  gentlemen  may 
have  addresses  that  can  not  be  delivered  in  full,  and  would  it  not  be  wise 
to  extend  that  privilege? 

Governor  Fort  :  I  should  like  to  have  that  done. 

Mr  Bryan:  The  same  privilege  should  be  extended  to  all  who  have 
addresses  that  they  do  not  have  an  opportunity  of  delivering.  I  make 
that  motion. 

The  President:  That  is,  I  think,  a  most  admirable  suggestion.  Mr 
Bryan  moves  that  any  of  the  gentlemen  who  have  been  invited  here  who, 
either  on  account  of  being  called  away  or  for  any  other  reason,  are  not 
able  to  deliver  their  addresses,  shall  have  the  privilege  of  submitting 
them  in  writing  to  be  included  in  the  Proceedings.  Is  there  any 
objection? 

Governor  Noel:  I  move  that  the  privilege  be  further  extended  to 
those  who  may  have  made  addresses  and  have  not  had  a  chance  to 
deliver  them  in  full. 

The  PRESIDENT:  I  think  that  would  be  included  in  the  motion.  Is 
there  any  objection?  [After  a  pause]  There  seems  to  be  no  objection, 
and  it  will  be  so  ordered. 

Mr  Long  :  Mr  President ,  having  had  the  experience  I  had  this  morning, 
and  knowing  something  of  the  amount  of  time  required  to  prepare  an 

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Address  by  Ex-Governor  Pardee 


address  on  any  one  of  these  important  questions,  I  realize  that  it  is 
simply  impossible  to  deliver  it  in  the  time  required,  20  minutes,  and  I 
therefore  move  that  the  gentlemen  who  have  set  papers  from  now  on  be 
allowed  sufficient  time  to  complete  them. 

The    President    [After    a    pause]:    The    Chair    hears    no    second 
[Applause] 

Will  ex-Governor  Pardee  take  the  floor? 


RESOURCES  RELATED  TO  IRRIGATION 
George  C.  Pardee,  M.  D. 

RECENTLY   GOVERNOR   OF   CALIFORNIA 


Mr  President  and  Gentlemen: 

On  my  journey  over  here  from  the  Golden  Gate,  I  passed  through 
twelve  States.  They  are  California ,  Nevada ,  Utah ,  Wyoming ,  Nebraska , 
Iowa,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Ohio,  West  Virginia,  Pennsylvania,  and  Mary- 
land. And  in  every  one  of  those  States  I  found  the  same  conditions 
existing,  the  same  outcry  from  the  people,  the  same  wasting  of  the 
natural  resources  of  the  country;  the  rivers  running  unused  to  the 
ocean;  the  forests  disappearing;  the  mines  being  exhausted;  and  in  but 
very  few  of  those  States  was  anything  being  done  to  retain  those  things 
which  are  of  the  utmost  importance  not  alone  to  those  of  us  who  are  here 
today,  but  also  to  our  children  and  our  children's  children,  even  unto 
the  final  generation  of  American  citizens.  I  found  the  Sacramento  and 
its  tributaries  practically  unused;  I  found  the  Missouri,  once  the  home 
of  a  busy  fleet  of  steamboats,  deserted;  I  found  the  Mississippi  and  its 
great  system  of  affluents  running  uselessly  to  the  sea.  And  yet  within 
the  last  year  or  two  the  railroads  of  this  country  were  unable  to  handle 
the  business  which  our  citizens  had  confided  to  them.  [Applause] 
Those  rivers,  able  to  carry  upon  their  bosoms  the  commerce  of  a  Nation, 
are  allowed  to  go  with  hardly  a  single  wheel  to  disturb  their  surfaces. 

Mr  Hill  has  told  us  within  the  last  six  months  that  it  would  require  five 
billion  dollars  to  make  the  railroads  of  this  Nation  able  to  take  care  of 
the  business  which  is  now  being  offered  to  them;  and  if  our  country 
increases  in  population  and  wealth,  it  will  of  course  require  several 
billions  of  dollars  more  than  the  five  impossible  billions  which  we  are 
now  asked  to  give  for  the  increase  of  our  railroad  facilities. 

And  yet  the  experts  tell  us  that  the  expenditure  of  one-half  a  billion 
dollars — $500,000,000 — will  enable  our  waterways  and  harbors  to  take 

(129) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

care  of  that  part  of  the  commerce  of  the  country  which  the  railroads 
can  not  handle.  Here  before  me  I  see  the  Governors  of  almost  all  of  the 
States  of  this  Union,  and  here  in  the  Capital  of  the  Nation  sits  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States  within  reach  of  your  voices,  so  that  you  can  go  and 
tell  those  Legislators  of  the  country  what  we  ought  to  have.     [Applause] 

I  notice  the  instantaneous  applause  which  has  greeted  every  reference 
to  the  inland  waterways  of  the  country,  and  I  take  it  that  you  will  agree 
with  me  that  first  of  all  the  waterways  should  be  preserved.  And  in 
order  to  do  that,  the  forests  must  be  taken  care  of,  and  upon  the  taking 
care  of  the  forests,  as  you  have  so  many  times  been  told  here  today  and 
yesterday,  and  will  be  told  again  today  and  tomorrow,  is  the  means  on 
which  nearly  all  the  things  which  we  are  here  discussing  absolutely 
depend.     [Applause] 

Let  me  interpolate  here,  and  say  that  these  photographs  which  are 
being  shown  at  my  left  represent  what  the  Reclamation  Service  has  been 
doing  in  the  West  and  Southwest.  Dams  are  being  built  to  store  the 
waters  of  the  rivers  at  present  unused,  so  that  they  may  be  turned  out 
upon  those  arid  and  semi-arid  millions  of  acres,  where,  in  the  time  to 
come,  the  great  civilization  of  this  land,  and  therefore  of  this  world, 
will  be  congregated.  There,  on  a  few  irrigated  acres,  a  family  of  Ameri- 
can children  may  be  raised  and  given  the  benefit  of  country  and  urban 
civilization  both  in  one. 

The  time  of  the  great  ranch,  such  as  we  had  in  California  and  now 
have  in  Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  has  passed.  The  time  is  here  when 
the  American  People,  instead  of  requiring  160  acres  of  land  on  which  to 
raise  an  American  family,  should  be,  will  be,  and  must  be  content  with 
a  much  smaller  irrigated  acreage,  the  proper  tilling  of  which  will  occupy 
all  their  time  and  effort.  And  this  kind  of  work  is  what  will  give  the 
land  to  those  American  families  who  are  now  unable  to  find  homes  on 
our  disappearing  public  lands.  They  tell  me  that  the  Reclamation 
Service  has  already  opened  up  waterways  and  ditches  which,  if  joined, 
end  to  end,  would  reach  from  San  Francisco  to  Denver.  [Applause] 
And  yet  they  have  made  but  a  beginning  in  the  work.     [Applause.] 

Gentlemen,  the  problems  facing  us  are  most  important.  They  strike 
at  the  very  root  of  the  present  and  future  prosperity  of  the  country. 

Is  not  the  time  for  talking  past?  Has  not  the  time  arrived  when  the 
representatives  of  80,000,000  People  here  assembled  on  the  floor  of  this 
room  shall  show  to  Congress  that  the  People  of  the  country  must  have 
the  things  which  we  are  here  discussing;  [applause]  must  have  the  for- 
ests preserved;  must  have  the  inland  waterways  deepened  and  made 
capable  of  carrying  the  growing  commerce  of  the  country;  [applause] 
must  have  the  arid  and  semi-arid  West  and  Southwest  taken  care  of  to 
reserve  that  overflow  of  the  agricultural  population  which  is  now  head- 

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Address  by  Ex-Governor  Pardee 


ing,  I  am  alarmed  to  say,  too  much  to  the  cities — must  have  all  these 
things  taken  care  of  in  a  wise  and  beneficient  way  under  the  leadership 
of  him  who  sits  upon  my  right  and  whom  we  are  here  today  to  honor? 
[Loud  applause  and  prolonged  cheers] 

Gentlemen,  perhaps  it  would  be  revolutionary;  but  if  I  were  at  present 
a  Governor  instead  of  an  ex-Governcr,  I  would  suggest  that  my  col- 
leagues from  the  various  States  meet,  for  instance,  with  the  Committee 
on  Agriculture  of  the  House  of  Representatives  and  show  the  Committee 
by  the  presence  of  the  Governors  of  44  States  that  what  this  Conference 
talks  about  it  means,  and  what  it  means  it  wants,  and  what  it  wants  it 
ought  to  have.     [Applause  and  cheers] 

We  have  a  way  of  doing  things  in  California.  My  native  city,  which 
but  two  years  ago  was  swept  by  the  flames  of  a  great  conflagration  and 
lay  prostrate  in  the  dust,  has  within  those  two  years  almost  rehabilitated 
itself;  and  here  are  44  Governors  who  can  take  themselves  to  the  capitol 
and  have  Congress  rehabilitate  the  natural  resources  of  the  country 
which  have  been  so  shamefully  wasted.     [Loud  applause] 

* 

The  fuller  opening  statement  follows  in  the  succeeding  paragraphs : 

All  natural  resources  are  interdependent.  Ores  can  not  successfully  be 
mined  and  reduced  without  coal  or  other  fuel,  nor  can  coal  be  utilized 
fully  except  through  the  use  of  metals;  while  neither  metal  nor  fuel  can 
be  put  to  the  best  use  independently  of  the  soil  and  its  products.  The 
resources  of  the  land  are  especially  interdependent;  without  rainfall 
there  is  neither  soil  nor  produce;  without  soil  there  is  no  produce,  how- 
ever abundant  the  rainfall;  without  both  soil  and  produce  the  rainfall 
is  a  scourge  rather  than  a  boon.  With  adequate  water-supply  and  a 
fertile  soil,  forests  and  herbage  or  crops  are  produced  in  abundance; 
but  without  the  protection  afforded  by  the  natural  or  artificial  cover  the 
soil  is  quickly  eroded,  the  land  impoverished,  and  the  streams  destroyed. 

Probably  nowhere  in  the  world,  certainly  nowhere  else  in  this  country, 
is  the  interdependence  of  the  resources  of  the  land  more  clearly  shown 
than  in  California;  and  here  as  in  several  other  western  States  the 
natural  relations  between  water,  soil,  and  produce  are  coming  under  arti- 
ficial control  by  means  of  reclamation  through  irrigation  and  drainage. 

Southern  California  depends  for  its  water-supply  on  ditches  taking  the 
water  from  the  mountain  streams  which  sink  on  entering  the  valleys, 
and  on  wells.  Its  forestry  problem  consists  in  the  planting  of  new  for- 
ests on  its  bare  mountains  rather  than  in  the  protection  and  conservation 
of  existing  forests.  Its  water  problem,  dependent  on  that  of  reforesta- 
tion, consists  in  creating  new  natural  forest-litter  reservoirs  for  the 
retention  of  the  melting  snows  and  rains  which  now  run  off  the  bare 
mountains  in  floods  to  the  ocean. 

(13O 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


In  northern  California  the  stream  and  forest  problems  consist  in  pro- 
tection, preservation,  and  conservation.  On  the  solving  of  these  prob- 
lems depend  the  following  most  important  matters  for  the  future  of  the 
State: 

i.  Irrigation 

2.  Navigation 

3.  Electric  power 

4.  Reclamation  of  swamp  and  overflow  lands 

5.  Lumber  and  timber 

IRRIGATION 

The  great  San  Joaquin  and  Sacramento  valleys,  which,  in  reality,  are 
but  one  great  valley,  contain  about  10,000,000  acres  of  level  and  rolling 
foothill  land,  fertile  but  arid  and  semi-arid,  and  on  the  average  worth 
not  more  than  $30  per  acre,  a  total  of  $300,000,000.  Irrigated  and 
intensively  cultivated,  the  10,000,000  acres  will  be  easily  worth  $150  per 
acre;  a  total  value  of  $1,500,000,000,  as  against  $300,000,000  at  present. 

Fifteen  years  ago,  the  population  was  no  more,  in  cities,  towns  and 
country,  than  60,000.  Today,  there  are  easily  300,000  people  in  the 
same  territory.  Ten  acres  of  this  irrigated  land  will  support  a  family  in 
great  comfort.  In  fact,  a  man  and  his  wife  have  lived  in  comfort  for 
many  years  from  the  products  of  one  such  acre,  a  part  of  which  is  covered 
with  buildings;  and  they  have,  besides,  a  constantly  increasing  bank 

account. 

Through  this  valley  from  the  south  runs  the  San  Joaquin  river,  joining 
the  Sacramento,  which  runs  from  the  north  at  a  common  mouth  in  the 
bav  of  San  Francisco.  Running  into  these  two  rivers  from  the  east- 
ward-tying Sierra  Nevada  Mountains,  are  many  streams.  In  the  south- 
ern part  of  the  San  Joaquin  valley,  the  water  of  these  streams  has  all 
been  appropriated  for  irrigation  purposes. 

It  is  estimated  that  two  acre-feet  of  water  per  annum  are  sufficient  to 
irrigate  the  lands  in  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  valleys.  It  is  also 
estimated  that,  with  all  the  streams  utilized  for  that  purpose  and  the 
flood  waters  stored  in  suitable  reservoirs,  there  would  be  enough  water 
available  for  the  economical  and  close  irrigation  of  nearly  all  of  the 
10,000,000  acres  of  these  valleys.  Add  to  this  the  wells  which  experi- 
ence has  shown  can  be  used  for  irrigation  in  many  parts  of  these  valleys, 
and  the  future  population,  urban  and  agricultural,  of  this  great  stretch 
of  country  can  safely  be  set  at  10,000,000. 

NATIONAL   FORESTS 

In  order  thai  these  streams  may  be  made  to  yield  as  great  a  low-water 

supply  as  possible,  the  President  has  very  wisely  made  national  forest 

.•rves  alony  their  headwaters.     These  reserves,  lying  along  the  crests 

(132) 


Address  by  Ex-Governor  Pard 


ee 


and  higher  slopes  of  the  Sierras,  cover  about  15,000,000  acres,  nearly 
one-sixth  of  the  whole  State,  and  guarantee  the  preservation  of  a  large 
part  of  the  Sierra  forests.  They  will  also  go  far  toward  conserving  the 
waters  of  the  mountain  streams  for  irrigation  and  power  purposes. 

The  Reclamation  Service  has  given  considerable  attention  to  the 
matter  of  reservoirs  for  impounding  flood-waters.  One  such  proposed 
reservoir,  in  Pit  river,  will  impound  two  seasons'  floods  of  that  stream 
and  will  furnish  irrigation-water  for  about  2,000,000  acres.  From  Clear 
lake,  in  the  Coast  Range,  250,000  acres  of  Sacramento  valley  land  can 
be  irrigated.     Several  other  storage  reservoir  sites  have  been  found. 


NAVIGATION 


In  1849,  Sacramento  river  was  freely  navigable,  by  the  small  ocean- 
going craft  of  that  period,  up  to  ten  or  twelve  feet  draft,  to  and  above 
Sacramento,  where  there  was  a  tide  of  2  h  feet-more  than  one  hundred 
miles,  by  river,  from  San  Francisco.  There  being  no  railroads  until 
1868,  Sacramento  river  floated  a  very  numerous  fleet  of  steamboats 
some  of  those  devoted  to  passenger  service  being  1,500  tons  burden  and 
drawing  ten  feet  or  more  of  water.  Above  Sacramento,  as  far  as  Red 
Bluff,  another  hundred  miles,  a  numerous  and  busy  fleet  of  li^ht-draft 
boats  plied.  Such  boats  also  turned  out  of  the  Sacramento  Into  the 
Feather  and  from  the  latter  into  the  Yuba,  to  land  at  Marysville. 

The  lower  San  Joaquin  was  also  freely  navigable  for  light-draft  boats 
a  large  fleet  of  which  went  to  the  city  of  Stockton.  And,  for  one  hun- 
dred miles  above  Stockton,  the  San  Joaquin  was  navigable  for  bar-es 
towed  by  light-draft  steamers. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that,  for  twenty  years  after  the  admission  of  the 
State  into  the  Union,  the  river  system  of  Northern  California  was  its 
most  important,  quickest  and  cheapest  means  of  inland  transportation 
Through  the  agency  of  the  hydraulic-mining  operations  on  the  Yuba 
Bear  and  American  rivers  and  their  tributaries,  literally  billions  of  tons 
of  debris  were  washed  into  these  rivers  and  completely  filled  their  beds 
Marysville,  which  was  an  important  steamboat  town  and  did  not  require 
levees,  has  been  compelled  to  spend  a  million  or  more  dollars  to  protect 
itself  with  fifteen-foot  levees  from  floods  out  of  the  Yuba,  has  had  to 
pay  taxes  of  from  6%  to  8%,  has  not  heard  a  steamboat  whistle  for  over 
a  third  of  a  century,  and  now  finds  the  surface  of  the  sand  which  fills 
the  bed  of  Yuba  river  nearly  on  a  level  with  her  streets.  Twenty  miles 
above  Marysville,  where  the  river-bed  is  half  a  mile  wide,  it  is  estimated 
that  there  are  190  feet  of  mining  debris  in  the  Yuba,  filling  the  channel 
from  bank  to  bank.  At  Sacramento  there  is  now  less  than  six  inches 
of  tide,  only  one-fifth  that  of  fifty  years  ago. 


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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

The  Yuba,  the  Bear,  and  the  American  are  all  fiercely  torrential 
streams.  The  filling  up  of  their  beds  has  caused  them  to  overflow  and 
cover  with  debris  many  farms  and  orchards  lying  contiguous  to  them. 
Sacramento  city  has  been  compelled,  like  Marysville,  to  levee  heavily  to 
keep  out  the  floods. 

The  hydraulic-mining  operations  have  completely  annihilated  the 
navigation  of  the  Feather  and  the  Yuba,  and  that  of  the  Sacramento 
has  been  greatly  impeded.  Thirty-five  years  ago  boats  drawing  ten  feet 
could  readily  reach  Sacramento  at  practically  all  stages  of  the  river; 
now  boats  drawing  four  to  five  feet  have  great  difficulty  in  doing  so. 
Above  Sacramento,  Red  Bluff,  formerly  easily  reached,  is  now  shut  out 
from  steamboat  communication,  except  at  the  highest  stages  of  the  river. 
Endeavoring  to  restrain  the  debris  in  Yuba  river  and  keep  it  from  going 
into  the  Feather  and  thence  into  the  Sacramento,  the  State  of  California 
and  the  Federal  Government  have  spent  about  a  million  dollars  in  un- 
successful attempts  to  maintain  dams  across  the  Yuba.  Because  of  the 
shifting  character  of  the  sand  on  which  it  was  necessary  to  build  the 
dams,  none  of  them  has  stood. 

Mining  operations  on  some  of  the  tributaries  of  the  San  Joaquin, 
notably  the  Calaveras,  caused  also  a  similar,  but  less  destructive,  shoal- 
ing of  this  river  in  its  lower  reaches. 

RELATION   OF   RAILROADS   TO   RIVER   TRAFFIC 

In  1868,  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad  was  completed  from  Sacramento, 
via  Stockton,  to  San  Francisco.  As  has  been  so  frequently  the  result 
where  a  railroad  parallels  a  navigable  river,  the  Central  Pacific  soon 
acquired  or  drove  out  of  business  the  boats  plying  on  Sacramento  river. 
The  capital  city,  being  made  a  division  end  and  a  shop  town,  quite  readily 
acquiesced  in  the  seizing  of  the  river  by  the  railroad.  Stockton,  how- 
ever, refused  to  submit  to  railroad  domination.  It  still  retains  and 
patronizes  river  boats  in  opposition  to  the  railroad.  In  place  of  the 
large  number  of  comfortable  boats  which  it  found  on  Sacramento  river, 
the  railroad  now  maintains  a  very  small  number  of  inferior  boats  which 
strive  for  business  only  to  and  from  non-railroad  points,  and  are  so  con- 
ducted as  not  to  invite  business  to  or  from  railroad  points,  and  to  pre- 
vent the  appearance  of  competing  boats. 

In  the  early  '70's  the  railroad  was  built  from  Sacramento  to  Marys- 
ville and  Red  Bluff.  Owing  to  the  destruction  of  navigation  and  its 
absolute  monopoly,  and  judging  from  the  freight  r:..es  on  the  infrequent 
boats  to  Red  Bluff,  it  is  estimated  that  the  Southern  Pacific  collects 
freight  rales  on  Marysville  business  from  one  and  one-half  to  twice  what 
they  would  be  if  the  old-time  navigation  of  the  Sacramento,  Feather, 
and  Yuba  were  now  possible. 

(i34) 


Address  by  Ex-Governor  Pardee 


The  following  will  illustrate  what  a  check  on  railroad-monopoly  extor- 
tion even  a  partially  navigable  river  may  be:  Along  Sacramento  river, 
above  Sacramento  city,  lying  from  ten  to  fifteen  miles  from  the  river,  is  a 
belt  of  wheat  land.  Freight  rates  on  the  railroad  tributary  to  this  land 
are  so  high  that  it  was  formerly  the  custom  of  the  farmers  to  haul  their 
wheat  by  team  to  the  river,  store  it  on  the  river-bank,  and  wait  several 
months  until  the  river  rose  enough  to  enable  a  steamboat  to  come  along 
and  take  it  off.  To  get  that  grain  as  freight,  the  Southern  Pacific, 
although  forbidden  by  the  California  Constitution  to  do  so,  used  to  pay 
the  warehouse  men  along  the  line  of  their  road  secret  rebates  on  all  the 
grain  shipped  from  their  warehouses,  so  that  the  warehouse  men  could, 
by  low  storage  charges,  induce  the  farmers  to  ship  their  grain  over  the 
railroad  rather  than  wait  for  the  coming  of  high  water  and  the  infrequent 
steamboat. 

Comparing  Sacramento  railroad  rates  with  those  of  railroad  towns  not 
on  navigable  water,  at  about  the  same  distance  from  San  Francisco,  it  is 
estimated  that  the  river  communication  reduces  Sacramento's  freight 
rates  from  25%  to  50%  below  what  they  would  be  if  the  Sacramento,  like 
the  Yuba,  were  unnavigable. 

Stockton,  by  encouraging  and  supporting  navigation  in  opposition  to 
the  railroad,  is  able,  it  is  estimated,  to  get  freight  rates  from  50%  to  75% 
lower  than  they  would  be  if  the  San  Joaquin  were  not  navigable. 

ELECTRIC   POWER 

The  commercially  important  streams  of  California  are  practically  con- 
fined to  those  which  run  down  the  western  slopes  of  the  Sierra  Nevada 
mountains.  Many  of  these  streams  fall  from  4,000  to  6,000  feet  in  a 
distance  of  from  25  to  40  miles,  thus  furnishing  opportunity  for  the  devel- 
opment of  great  power.  The  streams  which  run  down  the  western  slopes 
of  the  Coast  Range  into  the  ocean  are  not,  as  a  rule ,  available  for  power, 
the  summer  run-off  being  small;  while  practically  no  streams  run  down 
the  eastern  slopes  of  these  mountains.  The  streams  which  rise  on  the 
eastern  slopes  of  the  Sierras  are  of  little  importance  to  California  as  a 
whole. 

It  has  been  estimated  that  the  utilization  of  all  the  stream  power,  from 
Mt.  Shasta  to  the  Tehachapis,  a  distance  of  600  miles,  will  produce 
5,000,000  horsepower  of  electric  energy,  equivalent  to  100,000,000  tons 
of  coal  per  annum,  costing  at  present  prices  over  $1,000,000,000.  The 
utilization  of  all  this  water  power  would  therefore  save  $1,000,000,000 
in  cost  of  fuel,  and  produce  $1,000,000,000  worth  of  new  property. 
Already,  something  like  250,000  horsepower  are  being  used  in  propelling 
street  and  interurban  railway  cars  and  for  other  power  in  northern  Cali- 

(135) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


fornia.  The  actual  investment  in  such  enterprises  is  estimated  to  be 
between  Si 5, 000,000  and  $20,000,000. 

The  streams  from  which  power  may  be  obtained  have  been,  within  the 
last  few  years,  filed  upon  in  such  numbers,  under  the  lax  laws  of  California 
and  the  United  States,  that  the  fear  is  expressed  in  many  directions  that 
the  power  has  been  already  pretty  well  taken  up.  Many  of  these  filings 
are  for  purely  speculative  purposes;  others  are  for  future  development; 
but  comparatively  few  of  them  are  actually  being  used  or  are  in  process 
of  preparation  for  utilization.  The  fear  is  prevalent  that  the  acquisition 
of  these  water  rights  by  private  persons  or  corporations  will  lead  to 
monopolies  and  over-capitalizations,  and  that  these  great  and  most 
important  natural  resources  will  not  be  at  the  cheap  disposal  of  the 
people.  In  fact ,  already ,  by  means  of  purchase ,  by  bond  and  stock  issues , 
as  practised  by  some  of  the  railroad  and  industrial  corporations  of  the 
country,  the  electric  power  used  in  the  various  cities  of  northern  California 
has  fallen  very  much  into  the  hands  of  one  corporation ,  which ,  it  is  claimed, 
is  greatly  overcapitalized.  The  cost  of  electric  power  to  the  consumer  is 
maintained  at  a  price  which  makes  it  but  little,  if  any,  cheaper  than  coal, 
approaching  in  price  ten  dollars  or  even  more  per  ton.  Bearing  in  mind 
the  results  of  railroad  monopoly  by  means  of  consolidations  brought  about 
by  similar  means,  it  is  not  difficult  to  foretell  the  results  of  similar  monopo- 
lization of  the  power  of  the  streams  of  California. 

The  action  of  the  United  States  Government,  however,  in  regulating 
the  use  of  these  streams,  ought  to  prevent  an  absolute  and  oppressive 
monopolization  of  them. 

RECLAMATION   OF   SWAMP  AND   OVERFLOW   LANDS 

Both  above  and  below  Sacramento  city  and  on  the  San  Joaquin  at  and 
above  its  mouth,  there  is  a  stretch  of  very  fertile  land,  about  1,500,000 
acres  in  extent,  about  one-fourth  of  which  has  been  reclaimed.  Owing, 
however,  to  the  partial  choking  of  the  bed  of  Sacramento  river,  these 
reclaimed  lands  are  in  annual  danger  of  flooding.  A  levee-break  four 
years  ago  caused  damage  to  the  extent  of  over  $1 ,000,000.  Plans  are 
being  considered  for  the  combined  action  of  the  United  States,  the  State 
and  the  land  owners  to  avert  this  annual  flood-danger.  The  cost  of  the 
work  is  estimated  at  $24,000,000.  The  argument  in  favor  of  the  Govern- 
ment aiding  in  this  work  is  that  the  United  States  permitted  navigable 
rivers,  which ,  because  they  were  navigable,  were  the  especial  charges  of 
the  Federal  Government,  to  become  clogged  with  mining  debris.  The 
United  States  has  acknowledged  its  responsibility  by  appropriating 
$400,000  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  the  State  in  attempting  to  restrain  the 
further  dipping  of  debris  into  the  Feather  and  thence  into  the  Sacramento. 

(136) 


Address  by  Ex-Governor  Pardee 


The  reclaiming  of  the  i  ,000,000  acres  of  unreclaimed  swamp  and  over- 
flow lands  will  enhance  them  in  value  from  the  $10  per  acre  they  are  now 
worth  to  at  least  $150  per  acre,  and  will  also  increase  the  value  of  the 
lands  which  are  already  reclaimed.  The  argument  is  that,  because  the 
United  States  and  the  State  of  California  permitted  the  navigable  rivers 
to  be  filled  with  debris,  the  cost  of  reclamation  will  be  three  times  what  it 
would  have  been  if  these  rivers  had  not  been  so  choked.  Therefore,  it  is 
argued,  the  State  and  the  United  States  should  each  bear  one-third  of 
the  cost  of  restoring  the  Sacramento  to  the  condition  which  will  reduce  its 
flood-dangers  to  what  they  were  before  it  became  obstructed. 

The  expenditure  of  $24,000,000  for  this  purpose  will  add  $150,000,000 
of  value  to  the  land  of  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  valleys. 

Timber  and  lumber 

The  mountains  of  northern  California  are  densely  forested.  The  west- 
ern slopes  of  the  Coast  Range,  from  the  Oregon  line  to  San  Francisco  bay, 
are  densely  covered  with  forests  of  immense  redwoods.  There  are  in  this 
stretch— probably  the  most  densely  forested  in  the  world,  measured  by 
the  amount  of  timber  to  the  acre — 2,000  square  miles,  over  1,280,000 
acres.  Estimating  that  there  are,  on  the  average,  58,000  feet  of  timber 
per  acre,  there  was,  originally,  in  the  California  redwood  forests  something 
like  75,000,000,000  feet  of  timber.  State  Forester  Lull,  of  California, 
estimates  that  about  20% ,  or  15, 000 ,000 ,000 feet  of  redwood,  have  already 
been  cut. 

The  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains  are  forested  from  Mt.  Shasta  to  the 
Tehachapis,  a  distance  of  six  hundred  miles,  with  a  breadth  of  sixty-five 
miles.  Assuming  that  each  of  the  25,000,000  acres  of  Sierra  forests  con- 
tains 5 ,000  feet  of  timber,  the  whole  area  originally  contained  1 25 ,000,000,- 
000  feet. 

Redwood  trees  rapidly  reproduce,  from  about  the  stump,  a  second 
growth.  Protected  from  fire  and  properly  thinned  out,  this  second 
growth  will,  in  from  sixty  to  seventy-five  years,  produce  merchantable 
trees.  If  properly  and  scientifically  lumbered,  the  redwood  forests  will, 
therefore,  be  preserved  and  conserved  for  all  time.  It  is  only  within  the 
last  few  years,  however,  that  the  redwood  lumbermen  have  shown  any 
disposition  to  lumber  their  lands  scientifically.  In  fact,  it  seemed  to  be 
their  desire  to  exterminate,  with  axe  and  fire,  the  trees  from  their  lands. 
And,  doing  this,  it  was  their  custom  to  cut  only  the  best  trees,,  taking  from 
them  only  the  best  cuts,  and  leaving  all  other  standing  and  felled  timber 
to  the  mercies  of  the  firebrand. 

Within  the  last  few  years,  however,  in  spite  of  the  shortsighted  oppo- 
sition of  those  officials  and  private  persons  who  ought  to  have  known 
better,  California  has  made  a  start  toward  an  efficient  forest  service. 

(i37) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

It  is  not  yet  what  it  should  be;  but  a  beginning  has  been  made,  and  quite 
a  number  of  those  who  wastefully  lumbered  their  land  and  left  it  bare 
and  fire-baked  are,  under  the  direction  of  the  State  Forester,  beginning 
to  appreciate  the  necessity  and  economy  of  scientific  lumbering  and 
forest-protection.  The  Southern  Pacific,  with  its  millions  of  acres  of 
land-grant  pine  lands,  was  very  much  opposed  to  the  inauguration  of  a 
State  forestry  policy,  preferring  to  see  thousands  of  acres  of  its  timber 
lands  annually  fire-ravaged,  rather  than  submit  to  supervision  and  regu- 
lation of  its  property  by  the  State. 

Of  California's  100,000,000  acres  of  territory,  nearly  one-fourth  is 
forest  land  lying  in  the  two-thirds  of  the  State  comprised  in  northern 
California.  It  thus  appears  that  nearly  one-third  of  northern  California 
is  forested.  On  the  preservation  of  these  forests  depends  the  future  of 
northern  California;  for  on  them  depends  the  preservation  of  the  streams, 
and  on  these  depend  the  development  of  electric  power,  the  irrigation  of 
the  great  interior  valley,  the  navigation  of  the  rivers,  the  reclamation  of 
the  million  acres  of  swamp  and  overflow  lands,  and,  of  course,  all  the 
interests  which  depend  directly  on  the  preservation  of  the  forests  for 
the  materials  which  they  furnish  to  the  arts  and  trade. 

Looking  toward  the  preservation  of  these  forests,  the  President  has 
very  wisely  set  apart  in  northern  California  about  15,000,000  acres  in 
national  forests  and  national  parks.  This  amounts  to  nearly  three- 
fifths  of  the  forest  lands  of  northern  California;  so,  as  nearly  all  these 
reserves  are  in  the  pine-bearing  lands  in  which  head  the  principal  indus- 
trially important  streams,  fully  three-fifths  of  the  acreage  of  the  head- 
waters of  these  streams  have  been  thus  protected. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  more  of  California's  forests  have  not  been  set 
apart  in  forest  reserves.  What  has  been  done  in  that  direction  is  of  the 
utmost  importance  for  the  future  of  California.  It  will  be  noticed, 
however,  that,  with  the  exception  of  the  Monterey  Forest  and,  possibly, 
the  western  fringe  of  the  Klamath  Forest,  the  magnificent  redwood  area 
has  been  left  unprotected.  Of  these  forests,  only  about  20,000,000,000 
standing  feet  of  the  whole  75,000,000,000  feet  seem  to  be  in  private 
ownership,  so  that  there  is  still  opportunity  for  the  Government  to 
exercise  its  benevolent  care  over  a  large  portion  of  them.  The  outlook 
in  this  country  for  a  future  supply  of  timber  is  too  dark  to  have  such 
magnificent  forests  as  the  California  redwoods  overlooked  and  left  to 
certain,  quick  and  absolute  destruction. 

The  pine  land,  of  California,  especially  those  of  the  northern  part, 

suffered  greatly,  before  the  establishment  of  the  forest  reserve  policy, 

from   the  depredations  of  sheep  and  cattle.     It  is  the  custom  of  the 

shepherds  to  drive  I  heir  flocks  into  the  mountains  every  spring.     The 

turage  being  free  and  unrestricted,  the  sheep  were  driven  in  in  such 

(138) 


Address  by  Ex-Governor  Pardee 


numbers  that  they  cropped  the  grasses  to  their  very  roots  long  before 
they  went  to  seed.  They  also  browsed  upon  and  destroyed  the  seedling 
trees,  so  that  a  country  over  which  these  four-footed  immigrants  had 
run  was  left  bare  of  low-lying  cover.  It  was  also  the  custom  of  the 
shepherds  to  fire  whatever  dry  herbage  their  flocks  had  left  undestroyed, 
thinking  thereby  to  make  better  pasturage  the  next  season.  These 
fires,  getting  into  the  brush  and  attacking  the  inflammable  timber, 
annually  destroyed  thousands  of  acres  of  fine  trees  and  left  the  ground 
not  only  entirely  bare,  but  also  fire-baked  and  unable  to  re-seed  and 
recover  itself.  Between  the  sharp  teeth  and  sharper  hoofs  of  the  sheep 
and  the  fires  set  by  their  shepherds,  the  Sierra  forests  of  northern  Cali- 
fornia were  in  a  fair  way  of  being  quickly  exterminated.  The  national 
forests  have  stopped  most  of  this.  Already  these  forests  are  able  to 
feed  more  cattle  and  sheep  than  they  previously  did,  while  the  spring 
growth  of  grasses  and  seedling-trees  is  again  approaching  the  luxuriance 
which  characterized  it  before  the  cattle  and  sheep  and  shepherds  com- 
bined to  exterminate  them. 

LUMBERING 

California  lumber,  both  redwood  and  pine,  is  shipped  to  many  parts  of 
the  world.  It  goes  east  to  Missouri  River  and  beyond.  It  goes  to  South 
America,  to  Australia,  to  South  Africa,  to  Japan.  The  result  is  that 
lumbering  operations  are  being  pushed.  Of  the  200,000,000,000  feet  of 
standing  timber  in  the  State,  about  36,000,000,000  feet  are  in  private 
ownership.  Of  this,  it  is  estimated  that  about  1,000,000,000  feet  are 
being  cut  annually. 

Making  no  allowances  for  increase  of  cut,  destruction  by  fire,  or  saving 
because  of  better  and  more  economical  methods,  at  the  present  rate  of 
cut  the  privately-owned  forests  of  California  will  be  practically  exhausted 
in  about  thirty-five  years. 

Of  the  75,000,000,000  feet  of  standing  redwood,  it  is  estimated  that 
20,000,000,000  feet  are  in  private  ownership,  and  that  about  600,000,000 
feet  are  now  being  cut  annually.  At  this  rate,  the  privately-owned 
redwoods  will  last  less  than  thirty-five  years,  and  all  the  redwoods  in 
existence  will  have  disappeared  long  before  the  end  of  this  century. 

Of  the  estimated  125,000,000,000  feet  of  standing  Sierra  timber,  about 
16,000,000,000  feet  are  in  private  ownership,  of  which  something  like 
400,000,000  feet  are  being  cut  annually;  and  State  Forester  Lull  estimates 
that  1,000,000  acres  have  been  cut  and  another  1,000,000  acres  culled. 
At  this  rate,  the  privately-owned  Sierra  timber  will  last  only  forty  years. 

Something  like  $35,000,000  are  invested  in  the  production  of  California 
lumber.  The  total  cut  of  California  timber  is,  as  above  stated,  estimated 
at  about   1,000,000,000  feet  per  annum,  valued,   to  the  consumer,  at 

(139) 

56254—09 12 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

about  $15,000,000.  Redwood  furnishes  the  largest  cut,  something  like 
600,000,000  feet.  Next  come  yellow  pine,  with  a  cut  approximating 
2  50,000,000  feet;  sugar  pine,  85, 000,000  feet;  red  fir,  2  5, 000,000  feet;  spruce, 
25,000,000  feet;  cedar,  2,000,000  feet;  other  conifera,  2,000,000  feet. 

conclusions 

Because  the  State  is  new  and  but  thinly  populated — having  only 
2,000,000  people  on  100,000,000  acres  of  territory — California's  natural 
resources  have  not  been,  as  in  some  of  the  other  States,  nearly  or  quite 
annihilated.  Nevertheless  her  people  have  made  quite  extensive  inroads 
into  her  forests.  Because  of  the  fact  that  her  unforested  lands  have  been 
more  than  sufficient  for  the  support  of  her  population,  California  has  not 
been  compelled,  as  other  States  have  been,  to  sacrifice  woodlands  in 
order  to  gain  land  for  farming  purposes.  The  destruction  of  her  forests 
has  resulted  only  from  careless  and  prodigal  commercial  operations  upon 
them,  together  with  fires  resulting  from  those  operations  or  carelessly  set  for 
other  purposes.  A  glance  at  the  forest  maps  will  also  show  that  in  Oregon 
and  Washington,  with  California,  the  nation's  future  store  of  timber  is 
situated.  Both  in  quantity  and  quality,  the  Pacific  Coast  States  are  now 
possessed  of  the  most  valuable  arboreal  asset  of  the  United  States.  Here, 
then,  is  offered  the  best  field  for  the  interposition,  between  extermination 
and  preservation,  of  the  benevolence  of  the  Federal  Government  for  the 
future — the  immediate  future — benefit  of  the  people  of  the  whole  United 
States.  Here,  also,  is  that  Government's  best  opportunity  to  set  itself 
between  the  rapacity  of  private  monopoly  in  these  natural  resources  and 
the  People.  If,  as  has  been  done  in  other  States,  these  Californian 
wealths  of  forest  and  stream  be  allowed  to  fall  into  the  merciless  hands 
of  private  monopoly,  rapid  exhaustion  of  them  all  will  soon  follow,  as  it 
has  in  other  States.  Being  the  property  of  the  People,  they  should  be 
so  administered  that  they  will  best  serve  the  People,  not  only  in  the 
present,  but  for  all  time  to  come.  They  are  the  People's  capital,  which 
should  not  be  impaired,  only  the  income  being  used  for  the  People's 
benefit.  As  the  President  so  well  said  in  his  Rainy  River  Veto  Message 
to  Congress:  "We  are  now  at  the  beginning  of  a  great  development  in 
water  power.  Its  use  through  electrical  transmission  is  entering  more 
and  more  largely  into  every  element  of  daily  life  of  the  People;  already 
the  evils  of  monopoly  are  becoming  manifest;  already  the  experience  of 
the  past  shows  the  necessity  of  caution  in  making  unrestricted  grants  of 
t  bisgreal  power.  "  As  the  coal  and  petroleum  production  both  decrease,  the 
absolute  in  1  doft  In  preservation,  conservation,  and  protection  from  monop- 
oly of  the  water  power  of  t  he  country  will  become  more  and  more  apparent. 


(140) 


Statement  by  H.  A.  Jastro 


The  President:  I  will  introduce  Governor  Deneen  of  Illinois.  Gov- 
ernor Deneen  will  take  the  chair. 

[Governor  Deneen  took  the  chair] 

The  Presiding  Officer:  Mr  Will  C.  Barnes  will  read  a  statement 
prepared  by  H.  A.  Jastro,  of  California.     [Applause] 

Mr  Wiel  C.  Barnes:  Mr  President,  I  regret  to  say  on  behalf  of  Mr 
Jastro  that  he  was  taken  sick  this  morning,  very  suddenly,  and  at  the 
last  minute  he  asked  me  to  attend  and  read  his  statement  for  him,  which 
I  shall  do  to  the  best  of  my  ability. 

In  starting  out,  Gentlemen,  I  should  like  to  say  that  I  believe  Mr  Jastro 
is  well  known  to  all  of  you  as  President  of  the  American  National  Live 
Stock  Association,  which  comprises  probably  90%  of  the  live-stock 
growers  west  of  the  Mississippi,  80%  of  them  being  what  are  known  as 
"the  little  fellows"  in  the  West.  Mr  Jastro  has  been  invited  to  attend 
this  meeting  on  behalf  of  that  association.  What  he  says  comes  from  a 
western  man  thoroughly  conversant  with  every  part  of  the  live-stock 
industry  and  other  matters  pertaining  to  it,  especially  this  matter  of  the 
wearing  out  of  the  western  ranges. 

GRAZING  ON  THE  PUBLIC  LANDS 
H.  A.  Jastro 


Mr  President,  Governors,  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Conference: 

While  I  shall  discuss  the  general  grazing  problems  of  the  West,  I  con- 
fine myself  particularly  to  grazing  and  stock-raising  in  New  Mexico, 
Arizona,  and  California,  where  the  necessity  for  conserving  the  waters 
for  utilization  on  the  arid  lands  goes  hand  in  hand  with  the  equally 
important  one  of  preserving  what  is  left  of  the  once-splendid  grazing 
lands  which  the  careless  prodigality  of  the  early  settlers  and  occupants 
has  almost  ruined. 

The  lands  in  this  region  are  typical  of  the  400,000,000  acres  of  arid  and 
semi-arid  country  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  is  the  part  of  the  United 
States  in  which  I  have  spent  the  greater  part  of  my  life,  and  where  I  am 
most  familiar  with  the  conditions  and  interests  connected  with  my 
subject. 

The  development  of  the  stock-raising  industry  of  the  West  is  a  matter 
of  history.  Under  the  Spanish  rule  it  was  an  important,  if  not  the  most 
important,  industry  in  that  great  region  which  lies  along  the  Pacific  coast 
between  San  Diego  and  Cape  Mendocino. 

As  early  as  1800  great  herds  of  cattle  and  horses  roamed  over  the 
plains  and  mountains  of  that  section ;  if  we  may  judge  from  the  exports 

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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


of  hides,  for  which  they  were  almost  entirely  raised,  they  numbered  pos- 
sibly as  many  head  as  we  have  in  the  same  area  today. 

When  in  1848  the  country  passed  from  the  dominion  of  Mexico  to  the 
United  States,  a  new  era  set  in;  and  the  discovery  of  gold  forced  the 
primitive  Spanish  ranchero,  together  with  the  Indian,  into  the  back- 
ground, so  that  the  conditions  of  stock-raising  gradually  changed,  and 
while  the  great  herds  disappeared  their  places  were  taken  by  stock  of 
better  breed  and  more  value. 

From  California  the  stockmen  seeking  new  lands  and  fresher  feed 
pushed  out  eastward  across  deserts  and  mountains  into  the  mountains  of 
northern  Arizona,  where  they  established  themselves  and  again  dis- 
possessed the  Mexicans  and  Indians,  who  were  there  in  small  numbers, 
just  as  they  had  in  California. 

The  tide  of  immigration  flowing  westward  across  the  plains  in  the 
search  for  gold  dropped  many  stragglers  along  the  way  in  both  New 
Mexico  and  Arizona,  and  finding  it  a  country  of  splendid  possibilities  in 
the  stock-raising  line,  they  forsook  the  westward  trail  and  became  stock- 
men.    From  these  beginnings  the  business  has  grown  until  today  in  Cali- 
fornia, Arizona,  and  New  Mexico  we  have  in  round  numbers  over  8,000,000 
sheep,  nearly  3,000,000  cattle  and  700,000  horses  and  mules,  the  gross 
estimated  value  of  which  is  over  $100,000,000.     A  large  portion  of  this 
stock  is  supported  almost  wholly  upon  the  open  grazing  lands  of  the  arid 
and  semi-arid  regions  of  the  territory  mentioned.     Within   this  area 
there  are  about  135,000,000  acres  of  public  lands,  on  the  proper  use  and 
development  of  which  depends  much  of  the  future  prosperity  and  growth 
of  the  Southwest.     This  vast  range,  with  one  exception,  is  fast  being 
destroyed  by  unwise  and  indiscriminate  use  and  abuse.     The  one  excep- 
tion is  the  lands  which  have  been  withdrawn  for  purposes  of  forest  pro- 
tection, and  which,  under  a  wise  and  efficient  system  of  management, 
and  especially  as  to  its  use  by  stockmen,  is  rapidly— almost  miraculously 
in  manv  instances — recovering  its  former  splendid  condition. 

The  manner  in  which  these  forest  lands  have  been  handled;  the 
methods  by  which,  while  still  furnishing  almost  their  full  amount  of 
grazing,  they  have  been  re-seeded  and  are  again  assuming  their  old-time 
conditions — point  in  a  most  convincing  and  unanswerable  way  the  course 
on  which  to  proceed  if  the  balance  of  these  lands  are  to  be  saved  and  made 
a  source  of  value  to  the  People  and  the  country  in  general. 

Under  some  plan  of  Government  control  these  lands  can  be  so  managed 
as  to  secure  to  the  users— stockmen  and  settlers— a  permanency  in  their 
business  which  they  do  not  now,  and  never  can,  enjoy  under  our  present 
land  laws.  The  range  wars  that  have  been  so  bitter,  that  have  cost  the 
lives  of  so  many  men  and  so  many  thousands  of  stock ,  that  have  in  many 
tances  seriously  retarded  the  development  of  certain  sections,  will 

(142) 


Statement  by  H.  A.  Jastro 


cease  as  they  have  within  the  national  forests.  These  lands  should  be 
segregated,  and  the  different  areas  devoted  to  the  kinds  of  stoek  for 
which  they  are  best  adapted  aeeording  to  the  feed  produced  and  the 
local  conditions. 

It  is  but  natural  that  there  may  be  many  objections  raised  against  such 
a  plan.  It  contemplates  a  complete  change  in  the  policy  and  principles 
under  which  our  open  grazing  lands  have  been  used  since  the  very 
beginning  of  the  western  tide  of  emigration.  * 

That  the  conditions  now  obtaining  on  the  public  grazing  lands  are 
serious  and  demand  some  sort  of  remedial  action,  no  fair-minded  stock- 
man can  or  does  deny.  It  is  not  the  remedy  that  is  so  much  objected  to 
but  rather  the  difficulty  of  devising  fair  means  of  carrying  out  that 
remedy.  The  stockman  realizes  that  a  remedy  is  badly  needed  but  is 
unable  to  satisfy  himself  just  which  doctor  he  should  call  Thev'  are  all 
anxious  to  be  cured,  but  fear  the  means  to  be  taken  to  effect  the  cure 
might  seriously  interfere  with  their  personal  interests.  In  such  an  emer- 
gency some  controlling  agency  should  and  must  step  in  and  make  the 
decision  which  the  stockmen  seem  unable  to  make  for  themselves  with 
any  degree  of  unanimity. 

It  is  hard  to  understand  how  the  fear  as  to  the  manner  of  managing 
the  grazing  lands  can  be  accepted  as  a  basis  for  opposition  to  any 
plan  of  Government  control  when  we  have  in  the  national  forests  in 
that  portion  of  the  West  with  which  I  am  thoroughly  acquainted,  such 
a  splendid  example  of  successful  and  practical  management  of  similar 
areas,  and  under  many  more  complications  and  vexatious  problems  of 
water-supply,  forest  protection,  and  other  vital  matters  connected  with 
the  forests  that  we  would  not  have  on  open  grazing  lands  where  the 
forests  are  not  involved  at  all. 

In  every  western  State  where  the  stockman  has  gone  we  have  seen 
range  wars  and  feuds  between  the  cattlemen  and  sheepmen  in  their 
struggles  to  retain  possession  of  certain  areas  or  ranges  that  have  been 
almost  blighting  in  their  effects  on  the  region  in  which  they  occurred 
all  of  which  is  to  be  attributed  to  absence  of  regulation.     But  within  the 
national  forests,  with  their  forces  of  rangers  to  see  that  each  one  keeps  to 
his  own  range;  that  no  one  man,  no  matter  how  great  or  rich  or  influ- 
ential trespasses  on  his  neighbor,  be  he  ever  so  small;  and  thus  insuring 
to  each  a  portion  of  the  range  upon  which  he  is  quite  as  secure  in  his 
tenancy  as  if  he  owned  it  in  fee  simple-these   troublous  times  have 
passed  away.     Peace  reigns  now  where  not  many  years  ago  sheep  camps 
were  almost  nightly  shot  up  and  stock  of  all  kinds  killed  in  wanton  and 
criminal  disregard  of  law  and  decency. 

I  think  it  is  safe  to  say  that  in  the  past  five  years  there  has  not  been  a 
smgle  hostile  shot  fired  on  all  the  national  forests  in  the  United  States 

(M3) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


over  range  rights  or  kindred  troubles.  On  the  other  hand,  but  a  few 
months  ago,  in  one  of  the  western  States,  when  the  sheepmen  in  a  certain 
portion  of  the  State  desired  to  move  their  herds  from  the  summer  to 
the  winter  ranges,  and  in  doing  so  were  compelled  to  pass  across  a  district 
around  which  certain  stock  interests  and  settlers  had  drawn  a  dead-line, 
we  had  the  spectacle  of  some  seventy-five  or  a  hundred  armed  men,  hired 
for  the  purpose  by  the  owners,  guarding  their  movements  day  and  night, 
as  if  it  were  an  army  moving  through  an  enemy's  country.  And  this  on 
the  open  ranges,  the  free  public  lands  of  the  United  States!  Could  any 
system  of  Government  control  and  supervision  be  more  objectionable 
than  the  taking  of  such  means  as  this  to  obtain  the  use  of  the  so-called  free 
and  open  ranges? 

No  one  question  is  more  closely  connected  with  the  future  prosperity 
of  the  West  than  is  this  one  of  the  proper  conservation  of  the  water  and 
the  grass  and  forage  of  the  plains  and  mountains.  The  subject  in  all 
its  bearings  has  been  thoroughly  discussed  by  very  able  men,  whose 
experience  and  personal  observation  enable  them  to  have  positive  con- 
victions— men  directly  interested  in  the  utilization  of  the  resources  of 
this  region,  and  who  have  made  a  study  of  the  subject  and  sum- 
marized the  results  of  the  experiences  of  others  in  this  direction.  The 
American  National  Live  Stock  Association,  whose  yearly  meetings  bring 
together  thinking  men  of  ability,  has  given  this  subject  a  prominent 
place  among  the  matters  discussed.  I  can  only  emphasize  and  give  my 
personal  experience  and  observation  in  confirmation  of  the  views  so  ably 
set  forth  in  the  discussions  of  the  subject  by  the  members  of  the  Associa- 
tion, and  by  others  who  have  made  a  study  of  and  familiarized  them- 
selves with  it. 

Residing  in  Kern  county,  in  the  State  of  California,  where  the  entire 
flowage  of  Kern  river  is  applied  to  agricultural  lands  on  what  is  known  as 
the  Kern  River  delta,  to  a  large  extent  under  my  personal  supervision, 
I  can  state  as  a  fact  that  a  very  perceptible  effect  is  observed  upon  the 
low-water  flow  of  the  river  since  the  exclusion  of  sheep  from  the  forest 
reserves  covering  the  river's  watershed.  I  need  not  go  into  a  process  of 
reasoning  to  account  for  a  fact  that  is  so  obvious  and  so  well-known.  It 
is  not  claimed  that  the  aggregate  discharge  of  a  river  is  increased  by  the 
growth  of  timber  or  vegetation,  but  it  is  demonstrated  that  the  run-off 
is  more  gradual  and  is  prolonged  through  a  greater  length  of  time.  That 
is  to  say,  the  forests  and  vegetation  serve  the  same  purpose  as  artificial 
reservoirs,  made  by  dams  or  otherwise.  Also  it  is  evident  that  if  the 
ground  surface  is  protected  by  timber  or  vegetation  from  erosion,  arti- 
ficial reservoirs  are  protected  from  being  quickly  filled  up  by  silt  from 
the  mountain  slopes,  and  disastrous  torrents  are  prevented. 


(i44) 


Statement  by  H.  A.  Jastro 


According  to  daily  measurements  of  Kern  river,  during  the  period  of 
seven  years  from  1899  to  1906,  after  the  establishment  of  the  national 
forests,  we  find  an  increase  of  minimum  flow  from  86.22  feet  to  222.06 
feet — an  increase  of  over  50%  taking  place  in  the  seventh  year.  Through 
this  steady  and  gradual  increase,  the  area  of  lands  put  under  irrigation 
was  increased  from  130,000  acres  in  1899  to  over  180,000  acres  in  1906. 

Also,  according  to  the  statement  of  Elwood  Mead,  in  his  report  of  irri- 
gation investigations  in  Calif orina  in  1901,  there  seems  to  be  a  conclu- 
sive demonstration  of  the  favorable  effect  of  forests  on  the  watershed  of 
a  river  on  the  low-water  run-off.  A  case  in  point  is  the  difference  be- 
tween the  run-off  of  the  two  branches  of  Yuba  river.  The  North  Fork, 
being  heavily  timbered,  furnishes  75%  of  the  low-water  flow,  which  is 
supplied  from  only  one-tenth  of  the  total  drainage  area — the  watershed 
of  the  South  Fork  being  comparatively  bare  of  timber.  Mr  Mead  sum- 
marizes his  conclusions  on  this  subject  in.  the  following  language : 

It  appears  that  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  a  storage  of  flood  waters  is  not  in  the 
retention  of  a  small  percentage  of  the  storm  waters  behind  dams,  but  in  applying 
storage  over  the  entire  watershed  by  the  systematic  extension  of  forest  and  brush- 
covered  areas. 

Aside  from  the  mineral  deposits  in  the  arid  and  semi-arid  regions,  there 
are  but  two  resources  to  be  considered — the  small  areas  of  land  that  may- 
be rendered  productive  by  the  application  of  water  for  irrigation,  and 
the  vast  areas  of  land  that  can  never  be  of  any  value  except  for  grazing 
purposes. 

The  solution  of  the  problem  of  developing  these  two  resources  is  now 
attracting  the  attention  of  men  of  ability  and  experience,  whose  many 
years  of  residence  in  the  arid  regions  enables  them  to  comprehend  in  all 
details  this  entire  subject;  but  much  remains  that  will  only  be  solved  by 
experience  and  the  logic  of  events.  For  this  reason  it  is  very  important 
that,  while  the  subject  is  new,  the  best  possible  abilities  and  the  greatest 
perseverance  be  brought  to  bear  in  devising  a  system  of  making  the  most 
profitable  use  of  the  available  water  supply,  properly  protecting  the  for- 
ests on  which  the  water  supply  depends,  and  formulating  regulations  by 
which  the  most  desirable  results  may  be  obtained  from  the  vast  areas  of 
the  arid  region  that  can  never  be  utilized  except  for  grazing  purposes. 

It  is  very  evident  that  a  policy  or  rules  for  range  control  that  would 
apply  to  an  area  in  Arizona  with  possibly  ten  inches  of  rainfall  per  year 
could  not  be  applied  to  an  area  in  Oregon  or  Washington,  where  the  annual 
rainfall  is  often  as  high  as  sixty  inches  per  year;  or  that  regulations  for 
grazing  on  a  section  of  desert  region  in  southern  Arizona  which  would 
be  sufficient  to  fully  meet  all  requirements  could  be  used  to  any  advan- 
tage on  the  great  grassy  ranges  of  Montana,  the  Dakotas,  or  the  North - 


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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


west  generally.  Each  section  must  be  governed  and  handled  in  accord- 
ance with  its  necessities  and  local  conditions. 

Except  in  so  far  as  they  may  relate  to  the  lands  that  may  be  supplied 
with  water  for  irrigation,  the  attractive  generalities  so  much  played  upon 
by  those  opposing  range  control  on  the  subject  of  home  building  do  not 
applv  in  the  "Land  of  Little  Rain."  Whatever  may  be  the  ulitimate 
results  obtained,  the  situation  at  present  can  best  be  dealt  with  by  the 
general  Government. 

In  conclusion,  I  have  but  to  add  that  unless  a  just  and  equitable  law 
is  promptly  passed  authorizing  Federal  protection  and  control  of  the 
public  grazing  lands,  the  native  grasses  will  soon  be  trampled  out  through 
over-stocking;  and  hence  the  beneficial  uses  of  these  lands  to  the  stock- 
men for  grazing  purposes  will  be  very  materially  lessened.     [Applause] 


The  Presiding  Officer  (Governor  Deneen):  The  discussion  of  the 
two  statements  by  ex-Governor  Pardee  and  Mr  Jastro  will  be  opened  by 
Judge  Carey,  formerly  United  States  Senator  from  the  State  of  Wyoming, 
well  known  to  many  of  you  as  the  author  of  the  "Carey  Act." 


Address  by  Joseph  M.  Carey 

RECENTLY   SENATOR   FROM   WYOMING 

Mr  President,  Governors  and  Gentlemen: 

I  do  not  think  it  at  all  necessary  to  open  a  discussion  on  the  two  inter- 
esting papers  just  read.  The  field  of  discussion  has  been  opened  ably 
and  widely  by  those  who  have  preceded  me.  The  people  of  the  country 
will  be  astonished  by  the  facts  which  have  been  disclosed  by  those  par- 
ticipating in  this  Conference  concerning  the  great  natural  resources ,  and 
the  public  sentiment  which  will  be  created  must  bring  good  results. 

Each  generation  should  be  willing  to  leave  after  it  more  than  it  finds 
at  its  beginning.  There  would  be  little  left  in  the  world  for  us  today  if 
the  policy  had  been  for  one  age  to  exhaust  and  destroy  and  leave  but 
little  to  the  succeeding  one. 

Our  ambition  during  our  short  stay  in  the  world  should  be  to  accom- 
plish much  and  to  husband  our  own  resources  and  the  resources  of  our 
country.  We  should  help  ourselves,  those  dear  to  us  and  our  neighbors, 
and  leave  behind  us  for  the  generations  that  shall  succeed  us  a  valuable 
heritage.  It  is  true  as  often  quoted,  "We  brought  nothing  into  the 
world,  and  we  can  take  nothing  out  of  it;"  but  it  is  our  privilege  and  it 
is  in  our  power  to  make  the  world  better  and  richer  by  our  having  lived 
in  it,  and  make  it  easier  for  those  who  shall  follow  us.     To  illustrate  this 

(i46) 


. Address  by  Ex-Senator  Carey 

point,  I  will  tell  of  an  incident  coming  to  my  knowledge  some  years  ago 
which  I  used  on  another  occasion.    A  man  well  advanced  in  years  but  who 
had  not  lost  Ins  love  for  his  kind,  was  planting  apple  trees  on  an  inclement 
spring  day.     His  wife  called  to  him,  "Come  into  the  house  John    it  is 
too  cold  for  you  to  be  out.     It  is  useless  for  you  to  plant  more  apple 
trees.     They  will  not  produce  fruit  during  your  life-time."     His  reply 
was,  "Mary,  I  am  willing  to  plant  trees  though  they  do  not  come  into 
bearing  during  my  life.     I  have  planted  many  apple  trees  and  they  have 
borne  much  fruit.     When  I  came  into  the  world  I  found  apples  and  when 
I  go  out  of  the  world  I  want  to  leave  apples  for  those  who  follow  me  " 
[Applause]     That  right-spirited  man  did  live  to  see  the  trees  in  bearing 
and  his  good  wife  lived  also  to  partake  of  the  fruit  thereof.     [Applause] 
Then  the  question  is,  What  can  we  do  not  only  to  serve  ourselves  but 
to  benefit  those  who  come  after  us?     It  is  the  duty  of  all  who  have  a 
thought  for  our  country ,  in  our  looking  out  for  the  present  to  keep  in  view 
the  centunes  which  we  know  are  to  come,  and  which  we  believe  will  be 
in  the  life  of  our  Government-yet  to  be,  we  hope,  a  greatly  improved 
republic. 

Since  the  country  has  begun  to  take  an  account  of  stock  of  its  natural 
resources,  it  is  not  uncommon  to  read  in  the  local  newspapers  and  to 
hear  men,  broadminded  as  to  most  matters,  ask  the  question,  "What  is 
the  use  of  considering  such  questions  beyond  the  time  of  our  own  lives 
and  generation;"  insisting  that  some  way,  not  defined,  will  be  found  to 
make  good  the  exhausted  mine,  to  restore  the  fertility  of  the  washed-out 
and  overtilled  fields,  and  to  reforest  the  denuded  mountain-sides  and 
waste  places  of  the  continent,  if  such  unfortunate  conditions  should  ever 
come.  This  press  and  these  individuals  are  careful  to  disclaim,  how- 
ever, that  such  conditions  can  ever  arise  in  the  United  States. 

Today  it  is  possible,  in  a  measure,  to  estimate  some  of  the  great  known 
resources  that  are  rapidly  being  depleted.  He  who  ponders  over  such 
inventory,  while  he  may  feel  that  the  exhaustion  going  on  will  not  seri- 
ously affect  himself  or  be  grave  during  his  own  life,  if  concerned  about 
his  kind  and  country  must  be  profoundly  impressed,  and  must  be  moved 
to  lend  his  influence  and  assistance  to  such  courses  of  action  and  policies 
as  will  conserve  the  remaining  natural  resources  to  the  extreme  limit 

The  best  excuse  that  can  be  offered  for  the  devastation  that  has  taken 
place,  notably  in  the  exhaustion  of  the  soil,  in  the  cutting  of  the  forests 
in  the  mining  of  minerals,  is  that  which  we  have  to  show  in  the  way  of 
development  in  and  the  growth  of  the  country. 

In  the  first  settlements  along  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  the  extension  of 
these  settlements  further  inland  toward  the  Mississippi  valley,  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  forests  was  not  wholly  wanton.  They  were  felled  to  make 
room  for  the  husbandman  and  the  outlining  of  farms  which  became  the 
foundation  of  a  well  developed  agriculture. 

(i47) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

Carlessness,  ignorance  and  indifference  with  reference  to  the  cultivation 
of  crops  soon  caused  a  great  loss  in  the  fertility  of  the  lands.  Immigra- 
tion pushed  forward  to  the  prairie  States,  and  with  the  advent  of  railroads 
some  of  the  greatest  lumber  fields  of  the  continent  were  reached  and  the 
best  quality  of  lumber  became  accessible.  Much  of  this  went  into  the 
cabin,  cottage,  or  substantial  homes  and  buildings.  With  this  expansion 
came  the  founding  of  towns  and  cities,  which  have  grown  to  enormous 
proportions,  until  now  from  ocean  to  ocean  one  is  scarcely  out  of  sight 
of  the  farmhouse,  village,  town  or  city.  To  transform  the  country  and 
to  build  the  city  caused  a  great  drain  upon  the  natural  resources  found 
in  the  beginning  in  the  country. 

The  construction  of  the  308,000  miles  of  railroads  that  criss-cross  the 
continent  made  great  demands  upon  the  iron,  coal  and  lumber  fields. 
To  maintain  and  keep  these  arteries  of  traffic  open  will  be  quite  as 
exhausting  to  the  resources  of  the  country  as  was  their  construction. 
Thousands  of  miles  of  new  roads  will  be  required  each  year  for  many 
years  to  come,  which  will  make  still  greater  demands  on  the  forest  and 
mine. 

In  the  start  the  mines  of  coal  and  iron  were  too  plentiful  in  North 
America,  the  fertile  lands  were  too  nearly  boundless,  and  the  forests 
were  too  numerous  to  create  the  right  spirit  in  inaugurating  such  policies 
as  would  reduce  the  waste  and  consumption  to  the  minimum.  It  was 
not  believed  that  the  natural  resources  of  this  country,  so  great,  so  rich 
and  widespread,  could  be  materially  affected,  much  less  exhausted. 

From  the  statements  made  yesterday  and  today  in  this  Conference, 
one  must  conclude  that  notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  done  in  the 
way  of  development  in  the  United  States,  the  depletion  of  the  great 
natural  resources  need  not  have  been  half  so  great  as  the  stubborn  facts 
today  show.  We  can  not  undo  the  past,  but  we  may  now  learn,  and 
before  it  is  too  late,  how  to  conserve,  how  to  use  and  not  waste  nature's 
wealth,  which  was  the  foundation  of  the  growth  and  advancement  and 
which  has  so  mightily  blessed  the  land,  and  so  to  use  and  care  hereafter 
for  these  resources  that  they  shall  be  sufficient  to  meet  all  demands  in 
the  future.  We  may  use  but  not  abuse.  We  may  exhaust  but  not 
waste.  We  should  consume  of  these  resources  only  sufficient  to  meet 
the  needs  of  the  business  and  commerce  of  the  country.  Beyond  this  is 
scarcely  less  than  criminal. 

Perhaps  for  one  who  lives  in  a  great  American  State  like  Wyoming, 
with  a  small  population,  with  so  many  natural  resources  scarcely  touched, 
it  is  not  wist-  to  digress  and  to  stray  too  far  away  from  home,  even  in  the 
discussion  of  such  important  problems  as  those  being  here  considered. 

The  country  included  in  the  arid  States  and  Territories  in  a  certain 
sense  stands  in  a  reverse  position  from  those  States  where  the  rains  of 

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Address  by  Ex-Senator  Carey 


the  heavens  are  abundant  and  failures  of  crops  from  drouths  are  the 
exception.  He  who  makes  the  deserts  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  blossom 
exhausts  not  their  fertility,  but  adds  to  it. 

But  before  discussing  this  branch  of  the  subject,  I  will  direct  your 
attention  to  the  map  on  the  wall  to  your  left.  About  230  miles  east  of 
the  western  boundary  line  of  Nebraska,  the  100th  Meridian  will  be  found. 
This  line  approximately  divides  the  humid  and  semi-humid  districts  of 
the  United  States.  On  examination  you  will  find  that  the  area  west  of 
that  line,  semi-humid  and  desert,  exceeds  the  area  east  of  it,  and  that 
its  drainage  originates  for  the  most  part  in  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

Within  a  radius  of  less  than  ten  miles  in  the  State  of  Wyoming,  three 
of  the  great  rivers  of  the  continent  have  their  origin.  The  Father  of 
Waters  there  finds  a  beginning,  and  flows  through  many  of  the  great 
States  of  the  Union,  giving  life  and  wealth  to  millions  of  people,  before 
emptying  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The  Columbia  there  finds  its  source, 
then  winds  through  the  lofty  and  majestic  mountains  of  the  new 
Northwest  until  it  reaches  the  sea  and  pours  into  it  all  the  gathered 
waters  from  the  mountains  to  the  Pacific.  Green  River,  the  principal 
tributary  of  the  Colorado,  also  takes  its  rise  in  the  Yellowstone  Park, 
and  after  passing  through  many  a  wild  defile  and  deep  canyon  finds  its 
way  into  the  Gulf  of  California  and  thence  into  the  ocean.  The  time 
will  soon  come  when,  by  the  construction  of  gigantic  systems  of  irriga- 
tion, the  waters  of  these  great  rivers  will  be  fully  utilized  for  the  benefit 
of  mankind,  reclaiming  the  lands  which  they  now  drain  and  bringing 
great  plains  now  barren  into  bearing. 

Water  is  power.  Water  is  strength.  Water  is  health.  In  the  Rocky 
Mountain  States  it  is  the  most  valuable  of  all  assets.  Nothing  else 
compares  with  it,  nothing  else  can  compare  with  it.  With  it  we  can 
produce  trees  and  forests.  With  it  we  can  make  fertile  fields  on  the 
desert  plains,  and  make  the  unsightly  and  uninviting  plateau  attractive 
for  agriculture  and  home-building.     [Applause] 

What  can  be  done  by  impounding,  conserving,  and  properly  using 
water  can  not  be  better  illustrated  than  by  calling  attention  to  the  sugar- 
beet  business  in  northern  Colorado.  It  reads  like  a  fairy  tale.  Only  a 
few  of  the  facts  will  be  necessary  to  tell  the  story. 

The  business  was  initiated  in  1901  with  one  factory.  In  that  year, 
5,600  acres  were  put  into  beets,  which  produced  58,000  tons  of  beets, 
making  5,610  tons  of  sugar.  In  1907  there  were  ten  factories;  69,000 
acres  were  cultivated,  producing  898,000  tons  of  beets,  making  98,780 
tons  of  sugar.  The  business  now  represents  fully  $25,000,000  of  invested 
capital;  yet  all  this  great  business  is  confined  to  the  cultivation  of  scarcely 
more  than  three  townships  of  land,  which  before  its  reclamation  was  too 
arid  to  produce  even  a  crop  of  grass  or  sage-brush.     The  sugar  business 


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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

represents  intensive  cultivation;  and  the  center  of  the  business  in  the 
United  States  is  today  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  States. 

The  soils  of  the  plains  and  valleys  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  States,  by 
the  erosion  from  the  mountains,  are  rich  in  the  salts  required  to  produce 
plant  life.  By  the  utilization  of  the  waters  of  the  streams  and  lakes  in 
irrigating  the  lands  and  cultivating  certain  crops,  such  as  alfalfa  and 
other  clovers  and  field  peas,  nitrogen  can  be  drawn  from  the  air  and 
deposited  in  the  soil,  supplying  the  place  of  the  loam  found  in  the  soils 
of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  This  makes  it  possible  to  grow  in  abundance 
that  variety  of  crops  common  to  the  latitude,  and  the  most  necessary 
ones  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  civilized  world.  The  waters  return 
with  each  coming  season,  and  the  more  widely  they  are  spread  on  the 
land  the  richer  the  soil  becomes,  reversing  the  conditions  in  the  immediate 
Mississippi  valley. 

So  it  may  be  said  that  if  we  want  to  conserve  our  natural  agricultural 
resources  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  States,  we  can  best  do  so  by  reclaiming, 
irrigating,  and  cultivating  the  soil.  It  is  true  the  forage  so  useful  in 
the  life  of  the  domestic  animals  is  produced  naturally  in  great  quantities 
and  annually  grazed  off,  but  the  forage  produced  through  the  reclamation 
and  irrigation  on  one  acre  of  the  same  lands  is  equivalent  to  the  best 
which  naturally  grows  on  fifty  acres.  The  foundation  of  this  improved 
condition  is  water.  Its  conservation  so  that  it  can  be  used  when  the 
growing  season  is  at  hand  and  the  drouth  is  imminent  is  a  most  valuable 
accumulated  asset  and  insurance.     [Applause] 

If  you  for  a  minute  direct  your  attention  to  the  map  to  your  right 
hand,  you  will  notice  that  the  part  of  the  map  devoted  to  Wyoming  is 
marked  by  dark  shading.  This  shading  represents  the  coal  area  already 
discovered  in  the  State.  We  believe  that  these  discoveries  are  small  in 
comparison  with  what  will  yet  be  disclosed  in  the  near  future.  While 
the  State  is  rapidly  becoming  one  of  the  foremost  in  coal  mining,  the  coal 
fields  have  not  been  sufficiently  examined  to  tell  where  the  best  coal  will 
be  found  or  in  what  quantity.  We  can  scarcely  say  that  these  great 
deposits  have  been  wasted.  We  are  now  passing  through  the  period  of 
discovery,  not  exhaustion  and  waste,  in  Wyoming. 

The  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  conserve  the  great  natural 
resources  are  wise.  The  Government  of  the  United  States  has  under- 
taken one  of  the  greatest  works  in  its  entire  history  in  the  reclamation 
of  its  arid  lands  for  actual  settlers  and  homesteaders.  This  course 
should  be  pursued  until  the  flow  of  every  stream  is  controlled  and  the 
waters  are  distributed  over  the  parched  lands  tributary  thereto.  This 
will  make  it  possible  to  redeem  much  of  the  deserts  and  to  provide 
homes  for  thousands  of  farmers.  The  work  is  so  mammoth  that  it  will 
take  many  years  to  secure  the  full  fruition  of  what  is  possible.     The 

(150) 


Address  by  Ex-Senator  Carey 


process  will  be  slow,  yet  the  results  will  justify  the  time  and  expendi- 
tures required. 

The  red  shading  on  the  map  shows  what  the  Reclamation  Service  has 
done  and  is  doing.  The  private  enterprises,  largely  under  the  Carey 
Act,  will  amount  to  as  much  more.  To  reclaim  these  lands  the  forests 
found  at  the  head  waters  of  the  streams  should  be  conserved.  Only 
the  dead  timber,  outside  of  trees  fully  matured,  should  be  removed. 
The  domestic  wants  of  the  people  who  are  remote  from  the  great  forests 
should  be  considered.     [Applause] 

The  timber  areas  hold  back  the  floods,  the  forests  hold  up  the  snow- 
fall, and  in  this  wise  reservoirs  are  maintained  in  the  timber.  These, 
with  the  great  reservoirs  which  will  be  constructed,  will  in  a  measure 
control  the  waters  which  annually,  in  the  form  of  floods,  do  great  damage. 
If  this  damage  can  be  avoided,  almost  any  cost  of  the  Reclamation 
Service  will  be  justified. 

I  believe  the  great  cattle  and  sheep  ranges  should  be  protected  from 
destruction.  The  natural  grasses  are  a  great  resource.  They  are  a  sig- 
nificant factor  in  the  meat,  wool,  and  leather  supplies  of  the  country. 
Unless  something  is  done  these  great  grass  fields  will  soon  cease  to  bear 
their  annual  full  crop  of  nutritious  feed  for  cattle,  horses,  and  sheep. 
The  Rocky  Mountain  States  and  Territories  are  intensely  interested  in 
stock.  It  is  a  business  amounting  annually  to  many  millions  of  dollars. 
Wyoming  is  second  to  no  other  State  in  the  production  of  wool.  The 
sheep  business  is  very  large.  The  cattle  and  horse  industries  are  scarcely 
of  less  importance.  The  range  business  is  valuable,  yet  all  this  business 
will  be  small  in  comparison  with  that  which  will  grow  up  with  the  recla- 
mation and  cultivation  in  the  State  of  six  or  eight  million  acres  in  agri- 
cultural crops. 

To  protect  the  range  lands,  a  proper  leasing  system  should  be  inaugu- 
rated, and  all  the  lands  that  can  be  reclaimed  should  be  parceled  out 
among  the  people  as  speedily  as  possible.  The  question  arises,  "How 
can  this  be  done?"  Since  the  administration  of  President  Jackson,  the 
policy  has  been  not  to  get  revenue  out  of  the  public  lands  but  to  parcel 
out  the  lands  among  the  people  who  are  seeking  homes.  In  this  the 
Government  has  been  very  successful.  If  our  forefathers  could  have 
foreseen  the  future,  they  scarcely  could  have  done  the  great  work  better. 

There  have  been  all  kinds  of  land  laws  passed.  Good,  as  a  rule,  has 
been  the  result.  Sometimes  large  bodies  of  land  have  been  assembled 
in  the  hands  of  the  few,  but  soon  this  has  been  divided  and  distributed. 
The  tendency  from  the  Canadian  line  to  the  Mexican  border  is  the  divi- 
sion of  large  tracts  into  small  farms.  That  there  has  often  been  fraud 
can  not  be  denied.  The  West  has  not  always  been  able  to  wait  for  land 
laws  to  be  made  entirely  to  suit  new  conditions.     The  people  have 

(15O 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

sinned  and  been  sinned  against.  The  regulations  of  the  Interior  De- 
partment have  been  changed  many  times.  These  changes  have  often 
come  quickly.  The  Homestead  and  Desert  Land  laws  in  operation 
today  are  not  those  that  were  passed.  These  regulations  often  change 
the  laws,  yet  I  believe  the  best  possible  results  have  been  attained. 

The  gentleman  who  preceded  me  talked  about  wars  that  rage  among 
those  engaged  in  the  range  business.  He  should  have  said  the  news- 
paper wars.  I  have  lived  in  the  West  many  years.  I  have  been  inter- 
ested in  the  range  business.  I  have  not  known  of  these  range  wars.  I 
have  not  found  it  necessary  to  quarrel  with  my  neighbor,  nor  has  he 
found  it  necessary  to  quarrel  with  me;  much  less  have  I  found  it  nec- 
essary to  be  a  party  to  a  war.  My  experience  has  been  the  rule  and  the 
same  as  that  of  other  stock  men.  The  pursuit  of  a  thief  is  not  war.  A 
row  between  two  drunken  men  is  about  the  same  in  Wyoming  as  else- 
where in  the  world.  The  disputes  among  those  engaged  in  the  live  stock 
business  have  been  few. 

The  country  is  large.  The  settlements  are  few.  It  is  not  policed. 
Not  one  man  in  five  hundred  carries  arms.  The  few  troubles  and  the 
little  strife  among  those  occupying  the  great  public  ranges  are  high  com- 
pliments to  the  character  of  those  engaged  in  the  range  business. 

In  conclusion  I  have  to  say  the  sooner  the  forests  are  fully  protected 
from  vandals,  from  fires,  and  from  overgrazing,  the  better  it  will  be  for 
the  People.  That  the  grazing  fields  should  be  controlled  there  can  be 
no  doubt  with  the  right-thinking  man;  and  the  sooner  every  irrigable 
acre  of  land  can  be  dominated  by  the  plow  of  the  agriculturist,  the  better 
it  will  be  for  the  new  States. 

While  we  may  object  to  some  of  the  regulations  and  find  fault  with 
some  of  the  officers  and  agents  that  are  detailed  to  execute  the  laws  and 
regulations,  yet  if  the  Department  move  in  the  right  way  in  inaugurat- 
ing new  policies  in  forest  protection  and  range  control,  I  do  not  believe 
it  will  be  five  years  after  the  regulations  are  carried  into  effect  before  all 
parties  will  approve  and  applaud  and  be  happy  because  of  the  changes. 

I  thank  you,  Gentlemen.     [Applause] 


The  Presiding  Officer  (Governor  Deneen)  :  The  program  has  been 
altered  somewhat,  and  instead  of  continuing  the  discussion  of  western 
lands  we  shall  hear  from  Mr  J.  Horace  McFarland,  President  of  the 
American  Civic  Association.     [Applause] 


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Address  by  J.  Horace  McFarland 


Address  by  J.  Horace  McFareand 

PRESIDENT  OF   THE   AMERICAN   CIVIC   ASSOCIATION 

Mr  Chairman: 

I  would  urge  this  august  and  influential  assembly  to  consider  the 
essential  value  of  one  of  America's  greatest  resources— her  unmatched 
natural  scenery. 

It  is  well  that  we  should  here  take  full  account  of  the  peril  to  our 
material  prosperity  which  lies  in  further  wasteful  depletion  of  our  waning 
resources  of  forest  and  mine,  of  water  and  soil.  By  the  possibilities  of 
conservation  here  discussed,  the  mind  is  quickened,  the  imagination 
fired.  But  the  true  glory  of  the  United  States  must  rest,  and  has  rested 
upon  a  deeper  foundation  than  that  of  her  purely  material  resources' 
It  is  the  love  of  country  that  lights  and  keeps  glowing  the  holy  fire  of 
patnotism.  And  this  love  is  excited  primarily  by  the  beauty  of  the 
country.     Truly  inspired  is  our  national  hymn  as  it  sings: 

My  native  country,  thee, 
Land  of  the  noble,  free, 

Thy  name  I  love; 
I  love  thy  rocks  and  rills; 
Thy  woods  and  templed  hills 
My  heart  with  rapture  thrills, 

Like  that  above. 

Paraphrasing  a  recent  utterance  of  Mayor  McClellan  on  city  beautv 
I  insist  that— 

"The  country  healthy  the  country  wealthy,  and  the  country  wise  may 
excite  satisfaction,  complaisance  and  pride;  but  it  is  the  country  beautiful 
tnat  compels  and  retains  the  love  of  its  citizens." 

We  can  not  destroy  the  scenery  of  our  broad  land,  but  we  can  utterly 
change  its  beneficial  relation  to  our  lives,  and  remove  its  stirring  effect 
upon  our  love  of  country. 

Scenery  of  some  sort  will  continue  as  long  as  sight  endures.  It  is  for 
us  to  decide  whether  we  shall  permanently  retain  as  a  valuable  national 
asset  any  considerable  portion  of  the  natural  scenery  which  is  so  influen- 
tial in  our  lives,  or  whether  we  shall  continue  to  substitute  the  unnatural 
scenery  of  man's  careless  waste. 

_  Shall  we  gaze  on  the  smiling  beauty  of  our  island-dotted  rivers,  or  look 
in  disgust  on  great  open  sewers,  lined  with  careless  commercial  filth,  and 
alternating  between  disastrous  flood  and  painful  drouth?  Is  the  Grand 
Canyon  of  the  Colorado  to  be  really  held  as  Nature's  great  temple  of 
scenic  color,  or  must  we  see  that  temple  punctuated  and  profaned  by 
trolley  poles?     Shall  the  White  Mountains  be  for  us  a  great  natural 

(i53) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

sanitarium,  or  shall  they  stand  as  a  greater  monument  to  our  folly  and 
neglect? 

It  is  certain  that  there  has  been  but  scant  thought  given  to  scenic 
preservation  hitherto.  I  remember  the  contempt  with  which  a  lawyer 
of  national  renown  alluded  to  the  absurdity  of  any  legislation  by  Congress 
in  preservation  of  scenery,  when,  in  response  to  the  demand  of  the 
People,  that  body  had  chosen  to  give  a  measure  of  temporary  protection 
to  a  part  of  Niagara's  flood.     [Applause] 

Indeed,  one  of  the  potent  forces  of  obstruction  to  the  legislation  now 
demanded  by  the  country  in  belated  protection  to  the  almost  destroyed 
mountain  forests  of  the  East  has  expressed  itself  in  a  contemptuous  sneer 
at  the  very  idea  of  national  expenditures  for  the  preservation  of  scenery. 

Mr  Chairman,  we  meet  in  a  historic  place,  in  a  historic  city.  The 
Father  of  our  Country  was  not  only  great  in  war  and  statesmanship,  but 
great  in  esteem  for  natural  beauty  and  in  the  desire  to  create  urban  beauty. 
George  Washington  loved  the  beauty  of  scenery,  and  his  wisdom  has 
provided,  for  all  the  world  to  see,  a  Federal  city  admirable  in  its  adapta- 
tion to  the  public  needs,  and  destined,  as  his  plans  are  carried  out,  to  be 
beautiful  beyond  compare. 

What  is  the  effect  of  the  scenic  beauty  of  Washington  on  the  citizens 
of  the  Nation  who  come  here?  Is  not  their  pride  awakened,  their 
patriotism  quickened,  their  love  of  country  increased?  Consider  wealthy 
Pittsburg,  busy  Cincinnati,  with  their  wasteful  smoke,  their  formless 
streets,  their  all-pervading  billboards  and  grime — would  one  of  these 
serve  to  stimulate  love  of  country  as  the  National  Capital? 

No;  the  unthinking  and  ofttimes  unnecessary  ugliness  of  civilization 
does  not  foster  patriotism,  nor  does  it  promote  the  health  and  happiness 
which  are  at  the  very  basis  of  good  citizenship.  When,  in  looking  over 
the  horrors  of  industrial  civilization,  William  Morris  urged  humanitarian 
effort— 

"Until  the  contrast  is  less  disgraceful  between  the  fields  where  the  beasts 
live  and  the  streets  where  men  live,"  t 

he  brought  out  a  bitter  truth.  We  have  made  our  cities  ugly  for  the 
most  part;  but  we  are  learning  the  basis  of  happy  citizenship,  and  while 
we  can  not  altogether  make  over  these  centers  of  population  we  are 
bringing  into  them  the  scenic  suggestion  as  well  as  the  physical  facilities 
of  the  open  country — in  our  parks.  In  these  parks  lies  the  answer  to 
the  ignorant  contempt  for  scenery  to  which  I  have  alluded;  for  it  is 
incontrovertible  that  peace  and  health  and  good  order  are  fostered  in 
parks  in  proportion  as  they  represent  scenic  beauties. 

Mr  Chairman,  there  is,  too,  a  vast  economic  reason  for  jealously  guard- 
ing all  of  our  scenic  heritage  in  America.  Visiting  a  quiet  Canadian 
community  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Ontario  a  few  days  since,  I  was  impressed 

<>54) 


Address  by  J.  Horace  McFarland 


by  the  number  and  the  beauty  of  the  summer  homes  there  existing. 
Inquiry  brought  out  the  astonishing  fact  that  they  were  almost  exclu- 
sively owned  by  residents  of  a  certain  very  wealthy  and  certainly  very 
ugly  American  city  where  iron  is  king.  The  iron  manufacturers  flee 
from  the  all-pervading  ugliness  they  have  created,  and  the  money  they 
have  earned  in  complete  disregard  of  the  naturally  fine  scenic  conditions 
about  their  own  homes 'is  used  in  buying  scenic  beauty  in  a  foreign 
country!  Perhaps  a  certain  form  of  needed  protection  is  here  suggested! 
[Applause] 

It  is  authoritatively  stated  that  the  tourist- travel  tribute  paid  annuallv 
to  Europe  exceeds  half  a  billion  dollars.  Of  this  vast  sum  America 
contributes  a  full  half,  getting  back  a  far  smaller  sum  in  return  travel 
from  all  the  world.  No  one  will  suggest  that  there  is  travel  to  Europe 
to  see  ugly  things,  or  wasted  scenery.  No;  this  vast  sum  is  expended 
almost  entirely  in  travel  to  view  agreeable  scenic  conditions,  either 
natural  or  urban.  The  lumber  king  leaves  the  hills  he  has  denuded  into 
piteous  ugliness,  and  takes  his  family  to  view  the  jealously  guarded  and 
economically  beautiful  Black  Forest  of  Germany.  [Laughter]  The  coal 
operator  who  has  made  a  horror  of  a  whole  country-side,  and  who  is 
responsible  for  the  dreadful  kennels  among  the  culm-banks  in  which  his 
imported  labor  lives,  travels  through  beautiful  France,  or  he  may  motor 
through  the  humble  but  sightly  European  villages  from  whence  came  his 
last  invoice  of  workers. 

Every  instinct  for  permanent  business  prosperity  should  impel  us  not 
only  to  save  in  their  natural  beauty  all  our  important  scenic  possessions, 
but  also  fully  to  safeguard  the  great  and  revolutionary  development 
almost  certain  to  follow  this  epoch-making  Conference.  We  are  assured 
by  experience  that  the  use  of  our  great  renewable  resource  of  soil  fertility 
is  attended  with  the  continuance  of  beautiful  scenic  conditions.  The 
smiling  farm,  the  glowing  orchard,  the  waving  wheatfield,  the  rustle  of 
the  corn— all  these  spell  peaceful  beauty  as  well  as  national  wealth, 
which  we  can  definitely  continue  and  increase. 

Can  we  not  see  to  it  that  the  further  use  of  our  unrenewable  resources 
of  minerals  and  primeval  forest  is  no  longer  attended  with  a  sad  change 
of  beautiful,  restful,  and  truly  valuable  scenery  into  the  blasted  hillside 
and  the  painful  ore-dump,  ugly,  disturbing,  valueless? 

The  waters  of  our  streams  must  furnish  the  "white  caul"  of  the  future 
and  electrically  turn  the  wheels  of  commerce  in  smokeless  economy. 
Such  a  change  can  consider,  retain  and  sometimes  increase  the  beauty  of 
the  scenery;  or  it  can  introduce  the  sacrilegious  ugliness  of  which  the 
American  gorge  at  Niagara  is  now  so  disgraceful  an  example.  The 
banks  of  the  waterways  we  are  to  develop  can  be  such  as  will  attract 
scenic  travel  rather  than  repel  it.     [Applause] 

•      f  (155) 

56254 — 09 13 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


We  can  not,  either,  safely  overlook  the  necessity  for  retaining,  not  only 
for  ourselves  but  for  our  children's  children,  God's  glory  of  mountain 
and  vale,  lake,  forest  and  seaside,  His  refuge  in  the  very  bosom  of  nature, 
to  which  we  may  flee  from  the  noise  and  strain  of  the  market-place  for 
that  renewing  of  spirit  and  strength  which  can  not  be  had  elsewhere. 
True,  we  can  continue  and  expand  our  travel  tribute  to  the  better  scenic 
sense  of  the  Eastern  World;  but  that  will  not  avail  our  toiling  millions. 

Beauty  for  the  few,  no  more  than  freedom  or  education  for  the  few, 
urges  William  Morris;  and  who  shall  say  that  our  natural  beauty  of 
scenery  is  not  the  heritage  of  all  and  a  plain  necessity  for  good  citizenship? 
Every  one  of  us  recognizes  the  renewing  of  strength  and  spirit  that 
comes  from  even  a  temporary  sojourn  amidst  natural  scenic  delights. 
The  President  has  but  just  returned  from  a  "week-end"  visit  to  his  castle 
of  rest  in  the  Virginia  Hills.  Could  he  have  had  equal  pleasure  in 
Hoboken?  [Laughter]  Mr  Carnegie's  enterprise  built  Homestead — but 
he  finds  the  scenery  about  Skibo  Castle  much  more  restful ! 

Who  of  us,  tired  with  the  pressure  of  Twentieth  Century  life,  fails  to 
take  refuge  amid  the  scenes  of  natural  beauty,  rather  than  to  endeavor 
to  find  that  needed  rest  in  a  mining  village?  The  most  blatant  economist , 
who  sneers  at  the  thought  of  public  beauty  for  all,  is  usually  much  inter- 
ested in  private  beauty  of  scenery,  of  home  and  of  person,  accessible  to 
him  alone.  Selfishly  and  inconsistently  he  recognizes  in  his  own  use  the 
value  of  the  natural  resources  he  affects  to  despise! 

I  am  convincad  that  the  majority  of  my  countrymen  hold  deep  in  their 
hearts  sentiments  of  regard  for  the  glorious  natural  beauty  of  America. 
If  to  my  inadequate  words  there  be  any  response  among  those  here 
present,  there  may  be  future  action. 

May  I,  in  conclusion,  but  hint  at  some  things  that  might  well  result? 
First,  we  must  hold  inviolate  our  greater  scenic  heritages.  All  the 
nations  visit  the  Falls  of  Niagara  as  the  wonder  of  the  Western  World; 
yet  we  are  even  now  engaged  in  an  attempt  to  see  how  closely  we  can 
pare  its  glories  without  complete  destruction.  Eminent  authorities  warn 
us  that  the  danger  line  is  now  passed,  and  that  a  recurrence  of  a  cycle  of 
low  water  in  the  great  lakes  may  completely  extinguish  the  American 
Fall.  A  hundred  other  water-powers  in  New  York  and  Ontario  would 
together  give  as  much  wheel-turning  electric  energy,  but  all  the  world 
can  not  furnish  forth  the  equivalent  of  Niagara  in  beneficent  influence  on 
the  minds  of  men ,  if  held  as  a  scenic  heritage.  The  glory  of  Niagara  today 
hangs  by  a  hair — and  millions  of  money  seek  covetously  to  cut  the  hair. 
The  National  Parks,  all  too  few  in  number  and  extent,  ought  to  be 
held  absolutely  inviolate,  as  intended  by  Congress.  The  Hetch-Hetchy 
valley  of  the  Yosemite  region  belongs  to  all  America,  and  not  to  San 
Francisco  alone. 

(i  50) 


Address  by  J.  Horace  McP*arland 


_  he  scenic  value  of  all  the  national  domain  yet  remaining  should  be 
jealously  guarded  as  a  distinctly  important  natural  resource  and  not  as 
a  mere  incidental  increment.     In  giving  access  for  wise  economic  nur 

Ed  n£T  range'  l°  Va"ey  and  Stream'  the  FederaI  GovTnment" 

should  not  for  a  moment  overlook  the  safeguarding  to  the  People  of  a, 

the  natural  beauty  now  existing.     That  this  may  be  done  without  ore 
ventmg  legmmate  use  of  all  the  other  natural  resources  is  certain       ' 
The  Governors  of  sovereign  States  here  assembled,  the  many  organiza 

ions  here  represented,  possess  the  power  and  have  the  opportunity  "o  to 
change  and  guide  legislation  and  public  opinion  as  to  foster  the  under 
lymg  desire  for  public  beauty,  both  natural  and  urban  We  have  for . 
century,  Mr  Chairman,  stood  actually,  if  „ot  ostensibly^, Z  ug, er 
America;  let  us  here  and  now  resolve,  for  every  patriotic  a„H  1 
reason,  to  stand  openly  and  solidly  for  a  more^  mfful  and  he  eZe 
a  more  prosperous  America!  tnereiore 

io^ZZZT^  ^^  """"^  °~  F°'k  ^  called 

Address  by  Joseph  W.  Folk 

GOVERNOR    OF   MISSOURI 

Mr  Chairman  and  Gentlemen: 

I  rise  principally  to  carry  out  a  suggestion  made  to  me  by  a  number 
of  Governors.  I  was  requested  to  suggest  that  after  this  meeting  closes 
the  Governors  remam  for  the  consideration  of  some  matters  that  can  not 
properly  come  before  this  Conference  at  the  present  ses  ion  J  am 
sore  that  every  Governor  feels  that  he  has  been  benefited  by  the  nrcT 

ber  of'th  thlSHConfere"«  thus  ««■  As  has  been  remarked  by  .  nnm- 
ber  of  the  gentlemen,  this  meeting  is  world-wide  in  its  influence  Tt 
would  not  have  been  possible  for  so  many  Governors  to  have  come  to 
gether  in  any  other  period  of  American  history.  Prior  to  the  CivffWar 
the  transportation  facilities  were  not  sufficient  After  the  Cfcil  WarThe 
feeling  between  the  sections  was  not  such  as  would  make  such  a  meetLg 
very  harmonious  or  very  happy.  But  we  have  met  here  now  as  one 
large  family.     [Applause]  aS  one 

the  foct0thnaStthethSfTP-0nf,De;r11  bef°re  US  '  haVe  b«"  ™Pre^d  ^ 
the  fact  that  the  States  in  this  Union  are,  after  all,  closely  connected  in 

blood  and  ,n  interest.     There  is  Tennessee,  my  native  State    made  UD 

largely  of  people  from  North  Carolina  and  Virginia;  Missoun'  my  adopted 

State,  composed  largely  of  Kentuekians,  Tennesseans,  and  VirginTans 


(■57) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

Texas,  made  up  of  Missourians  and  Tennesseans,  with  others  from  the 
older  States;  Oklahoma,  made  up  chiefly  of  Texans,  Missourians,  Ten- 
nesseans, and  Kansans.  And  so  it  is  that  all  of  the  American  States  are 
now  united  in  purpose  and  joined  together  by  patriotic  bands  into  a  com- 
mon country.  What  concerns  one  is  the  concern  of  all;  the  achievements 
of  one  are  the  glory  of  all.     [Applause] 

The  People  of  the  United  States,  whether  from  North,  East,  South,  or 
West  are  alike.  The  good  men  and  women  are  the  same  everywhere,  and 
the  bad  people  are  alike  wherever  they  may  be  found.  In  all  of  the  Amer- 
ican States,  honest  blood  is  loyal  blood,  and  manhood  is  the  only  patent 
of  nobility.     [Applause] 

It  does  not  matter  so  much  where  a  man  is  from  and  what  that  man  is. 
In  the  language  of  Kipling: 

There  is  neither  East  nor  West — 

Border,  nor  breed,  nor  birth — 

When  two  strong  men  stand  face  to  face, 

Though  they  come  from  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

In  this  Conference,  if  I  had  any  criticism  to  offer  it  would  be  this.  We 
have  not  heard  from  as  many  of  the  Governors  as  perhaps  should  have 
spoken,  not  theoretically  but  giving  us  the  benefit  of  their  actual  experi- 
ences.    Perhaps  I  could  criticise  myself  in  that  regard. 

Take  the  questions  we  had  up  yesterday,  the  subject  of  mines,  or  the 
subject  of  reclamation  of  lands.  In  Missouri,  in  the  southeastern  por- 
tion of  the  State,  we  have  reclaimed  more  than  500,000  acres,  by  a  drain- 
age system,  at  an  average  cost  of  $12  an  acre;  and  that  land  a  few  years 
ago  was  worthless.  Today  it  is  as  rich  as  any  land  in  all  the  world. 
[Applause] 

I  was  impressed  by  what  Mr  Mitchell  said  yesterday  on  the  subject  of 
mines,  and  by  what  Mr  Carnegie  and  Mr  Hill  had  to  say  on  the  same 
subject.  In  Missouri  we  produce  something  like  $8,000,000  worth  of  coal 
a  year;  but  26,000  square  miles  of  Missouri  soil  are  underlain  with  coal 
deposits  of  an  approximate  value  of  $200,000,000,000.  So  it  will  take 
at  the  present  rate  of  mining  something  like  three  thousand  years  to 
exhaust  the  supply  that  we  have  under  that  soil. 

Therefore  I  see  no  necessity  for  immediate  apprehension  on  the  subject 
of  the  exhaustion  of  the  coal  supply.  These  natural  resources  should  be 
conserved,  but  the  coming  generation  can  meet  that  problem.  We  have 
other  problems  before  us  that  we  must  meet  and  settle  now. 

The  forestry  qu<  stion  is  our  problem,  and  it  is  a  problem  that  we  must 
'1<-,  and  settle  soon.     [Applause] 

The  waterways  question  is  our  problem,  and  if  we  do  not  settle  it  we 
will  fail  in  our  duty,  not  only  to  the  present  generation  but  to  those  who 
ma-,  come  aftei  us.     [Applau 


Address  by  Governor  Folk 


Governor  Glenn  this  morning  spoke  of  a  bill  before  Congress  in  reference 
to  forestry  and  waterways.  I  want  to  endorse  what  Governor  Glenn  said. 
The  Newlands  bill  ought  to  pass  Congress.  [Applause]  He  again  spoke 
of  vox  populi,  vox  Dei.  But  there  is  a  new  voice  in  the  land  that  was 
not  contemplated  by  the  Fathers  of  the  Republic — vox  Cannoni.  [Ap- 
plause and  laughter]  And  this  last  voice  has  often  proved  more  powerful 
than  vox  populi,  and  it  sometimes  seems  to  think  it  is  greater  than  vox 
Dei.     [Cries  of  ' '  That's  so ' '] 

We  want  to  put  our  forests  in  proper  condition  to  preserve  those  we 
have,  and  to  adopt  a  scheme  of  reforestation.  In  Missouri  we  have  no 
State  forester,  but  as  soon  as  I  go  back  I  am  going  to  appoint  a  State 
Forestry  Commission.  [Applause  and  cries  of  "Good"  "Good"]  I 
believe  every  Governor  ought  to  do  the  same  thing,  and  I  am  sure  that 
his  State  Legislature  when  it  meets  will  ratify  his  action. 

We  want  to  preserve  our  forests.  Now,  I  hope  I  am  not  encroaching 
upon  forbidden  ground,  but  I  have  been  wondering  why,  if  it  be  so  neces- 
sary to  preserve  our  forests,  it  would  not  be  a  good  idea  to  put  lumber 
on  the  free  list — make  lumber  free.  [Applause]  I  hope  that  is  not  heresy. 
It  seems  to  me  that  for  every  foot  of  lumber  brought  here  from  another 
country  we  preserve  a  foot  of  lumber  in  our  own  forests. 

Mr  Long  :  I  would  like  to  answer  that  right  now 

Governor  Folk:  Not  right  now,  Mr  Long;  my  time  is  limited. 

The  tariff  on  lumber  instead  of  protecting  our  own  forests  has  the  effect 
of  destroying  our  forests. 

I  note  that  my  time  has  expired,  and  I  will  ask  your  indulgence  only  a 
little  further.     I  wanted  to  speak  one  moment  on  the  waterways. 

You  will  notice  on  that  map  St.  Louis  on  the  eastern  side  of  Missouri, 
and  Kansas  City  on  the  west.  You  will  see  through  the  center  the  blue 
line  marking  Missouri  river.  We  are  now  contemplating  the  building 
of  a  great  highway  from  St.  Louis  to  Kansas  City,  and  were  there  no  navi- 
gable waterways  between  those  points  the  project  of  building  a  canal 
would  be  seriously  considered.  But  nature  has  already  provided  a  mag- 
nificent waterway  that  needs  only  to  be  improved  to  make  it  one  of  the 
great  arteries  of  commerce  of  the  Nation.     [Applause] 

This  river,  as  well  as  all  other  navigable  waterways,  belongs,  I  believe, 
to  the  Federal  Government.  I  think  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment to  improve  these  waterways  and  make  them  adequate  for  com- 
merce. [Applause]  The  proposition  as  to  the  ownership  of  navigable 
waterways  was  debated  the  other  day  in  the  Senate.  Some  took  the 
position  that  navigable  waterways  really  belong  to  the  State,  and  the 
Federal  Government  only  has  an  easement  in  them  for  the  purpose  of 
navigation.     But  if  the  State  of  North  Carolina— we  have  had  some 


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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

experience  along  that  line — or  the  State  of  Missouri  were  to  attempt  to 
improve  one  of  these  navigable  waterways,  I  am  afraid  the  State  officials 
would  soon  find  themselves  in  jail  for  interfering  with  navigation. 
What  to  a  State  official  might  seem  an  aid  to  navigation  might  to  the 
Federal  official  seem  an  obstruction  to  navigation.  The  States  must 
obtain  the  consent  of  the  Federal  Government  before  anything  can  be 
done  by  the  States  to  improve  the  waterways,  and  since  that  consent  has 
to  be  obtained  the  Federal  Government  is  in  fact  the  owner,  if  not  in 
theory  at  least  practically  speaking. 

Now,  I  propose  this.  Since  the  Federal  Government  has  neglected 
that  magnificent  stream  that  drains  the  richest  freight-producing  country 
in  all  the  world,  that  the  Federal  Government  either  immediately  proceed 
to  put  that  waterway  in  such  a  condition  that  it  can  be  used  for  our  com- 
merce; or,  if  the  Federal  Government  does  not  desire  to  do  that,  then 
if  by  act  of  Congress  the  Federal  Government  will  permit  the  State  of 
Missouri  to  use  the  water  power  from  Missouri  River,  the  State  of  Mis- 
souri will  guarantee  to  put  it  in  proper  condition  by  the  revenues  derived 
from  the  sale  of  the  water  power.     [Applause] 

And  not  only  that,  but  we  can  obtain  sufficient  revenue  to  run  our 
State  Government  in  addition.  Mr  Smith  of  St.  Louis,  the  President  of 
the  Business  Men's  League — are  you  here,  Mr  Smith? 

Mr  Smith:  Yes. 

Governor  Folk:  Is  that  proposition  satisfactory  to  the  business  men? 

Mr  Smith  :  Entirely  so. 

Governor  Folk:  I  believe  each  State  would  make  that  proposition. 
So  let  the  Federal  Government  either  improve  these  waterways  or  give 
the  States  permission  to  do  so  and  use  the  water  power.  I  believe  we  are 
entering  on  an  era  of  prosperity  such  as  this  Nation  has  never  known 
before.  With  the  completion  of  the  Panama  Canal  the  world  will  be 
the  business  field  of  our  great  industries,  and  with  restrictions  on  trade 
removed  it  takes  no  prophetic  eye  to  look  into  the  future  and  see  for  the 
United  States  a  pre-eminence  in  industrial  activity  never  before  attained. 
[Applause] 

It  is  no  idle  assertion  to  say  that  the  United  States  is  destined  to  domi- 
nate the  eoninierce  of  the  modern  world,  even  as  Rome  and  Carthage 
were  the  commercial  mistresses  of  the  world  of  Hannibal  and  of  Scipio; 
but  those  t  wo  great  city-states  had  but  a  single  coast,  both  were  on  the 
shores  of  but  a  single  sea,  while  the  United  States  may  lay  a  mighty  hand 
on  either  ocean  at  will,  and  dominate  the  southern  seas  as  well.  I  believe 
we  may  confidently  look  forward  to  a  day  of  universal  peace  when  the 
nations  of  the  earth  will  In-  knit  together  in  commerce  and  in  brother- 
hood. When  that  time  comes  the  rivers  of  the  United  States  will  be 
filled  with  craft  of  every  kind,  carrying  the  products  of  farm  and  of  mine 

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Address  by  Governor  Folk 


and  of  factory  across  the  seas  into  every  land  beneath  the  sun  and 
returning  to  pour  into  the  lap  of  the  Nation  the  golden  stream  of  universal 
trade.     I  thank  you  very  much.     [Loud  applause] 

Mr  Osborn:  Mr  President,  I  rise  to  a  question  of  information 
The    Presiding    Officer   [Governor   Deneen]:    The   gentleman   is 
recognized. 

Mr  Osborn:  I  want  to  give  the  Conference  the  inspiring  information  of 
the  first  fruits  of  its  efforts,  the  first  actual  practical  effect  of  the  splen- 
did work  that  has  been  inaugurated  here. 

You  will  remember  the  emphatic  and  dramatic  manner  and  the  satis- 
factory terms  in  which  the  President  of  the  United  States  referred  to  the 
Inland  Waterways  Commission.     The  Senate  Committee  on  Commerce 
which  had  under  consideration  the  waterways  bill,  has  reported  it  out 
favorably,  within  the  last  half  hour,  [applause]  carrying  money  for  its 
permanent  maintenance;  declaring  that  it  shall  have  an  office  in  Wash- 
ington, that  its  membership  shall  be  nine,  appointed  by  the  President 
and  that  it  shall  have  a  free  and  untrammeled  field  in  the  future  for  the 
great  work  that  we  hope  it  will  do.     That  is  a  practical  result-  and  we 
want  practical  results  in  this  Conference.     [Applause]     We  don't  want 
to  send  out  a  message  to  the  world  of  hopelessness  or  pessimism      We 
want  to  tell  the  people  that  the  time  is  ripe  to  do  things,  not  yesterday 
but  today;  that  it  is  the  genius,  the  patriotism,  the  vitalitv  of  our  people 
of  all  our  country,  from  the  top  to  the  bottom,  from  each  side  to  the  other' 
that  are  aroused;  and  we  will  do  the  things  that  we  have  to  do 

Another  practical  result-and  I  think  there  will  be  many  very  soon- 
was  the  declaration  made  by  Governor  Folk  that  everybody  applauded 
so  splendidly  that  he  is  going  home  to  appoint  a  State  Forestry  Com- 
mission. Let  us  all  go  home  and  do  something  equally  good,  or  as  near 
as  we  can  come  to  it.     [Applause] 

The  Presiding  Officer:  I  want  to  congratulate  Governor  Folk  on 
the  results  that  are  following  so  closely  on  his  speech. 
Governor  Brooks  of  Wyoming  is  recognized. 

Address  by  Bryant  B.  Brooks 

GOVERNOR    OF   WYOMING 

Mr  Chairman,  Governors,  Gentlemen: 

I  will  try  and  keep  safely  within  the  five-minute  limit.  I  simply  want 
to  follow  the  advice  just  given  by  the  Governor  of  Missouri,  and  express 
briefly  the  sentiments  of  the  western  people  relative  to  this  great  ques- 
tion. I  speak  from  personal  experience,  and  believe  in  doing  so  I  but 
voice  the  sentiment  of  a  great  majority  of  the  western  people. 

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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


Your  attention  has  been  called  to  the  State  of  Wyoming.  I  ask  you 
to  notice  also  that  it  is  one  of  the  squarest  States  in  the  Union ;  [applause] 
that  its  people,  blessed  by  a  mile-high  altitude,  perfect  climate  and 
woman's  suffrage,  face  four-square  to  all  the  world. 

No  State  in  the  Union  has  more  undeveloped  natural  resources.  Our 
pine  timber  covers  an  area  larger  than  the  State  of  Massachusetts.  Our 
coal  deposits  underlie  territory  greater  than  Vermont  and  New  Hamp- 
shire. Our  oil  fields  are  more  extensive  than  the  oil  fields  of  Pennsyl- 
vania or  Ohio;  and  our  vast  iron  deposits,  many  of  them  beyond  the 
reach  of  transportation,  have  all  been  analyzed  and  found  superb. 

My  people  want  the  conservation  of  natural  resources  along  the  lines 
outlined  so  splendidly  by  the  President  yesterday.  We  want  the  con- 
servation, but  not  stagnation.  We  want  the  conservation  of  natural 
resources  which  means  the  intelligent  exploiting  of  those  resources, 
thereby  sensibly  preventing  waste  by  both  producer  and  consumer. 

I  want  to  set  myself  right  before  the  Gentleman  from  New  York. 
The  people  of  the  west  favor  forest  protection  and  want  reforestation 
on  burned-over  and  waste  areas,  but  we  also  want  fairness.  I  was 
delighted  to  hear  the  Governor  from  Missouri  say  he  is  going  home  to 
appoint  a  forestry  commission.  We  want  a  forestry  commission  in  every 
State  of  the  Union,  and  we  want  State  protection  of  our  forest  reserves 
as  far  as  possible. 

We  also  need  this  National  Forestry  Association;  but  we  would  like 
to  have  it  conducted  more  along  the  lines  followed  by  the  Agricultural 
Department.  [Applause]  Let  the  National  Association  send  experts 
into  every  State  to  ascertain  what  is  necessary  to  kill  the  bugs  that  are 
destroying  the  trees,  to  find  the  trees  best  adapted  to  the  soil.  But  it  is 
not  right  to  Wyoming,  with  one-sixth  of  its  area  taken  up  by  National 
Forests,  or  to  Idaho  with  nearly  one-fourth  of  its  area  taken  up  by 
forest  reserves,  or  to  Montana,  with  one-fifth  of  its  area  taken  up  by 
forest  reserves,  to  be  taxed  to  support  a  national  association  that  is  doing 
work  down  in  the  Empire  State  of  New  York  free  of  cost. 

The  Governor  of  New  Jersey  said  they  did  not  have  to  levy  any  taxes 
for  vState  development.  Out  West  we  necessarily  tax  our  people  to  the 
limit,  and  last  year  Wyoming  people  also  paid  over  $150,000  for  grazing 
privileges  and  logs  and  lumber  brought  out  from  the  forest  reserves 
which  should  go  to  our  settlers  absolutely  free.  This  tax  on  Wyoming 
forest  reserves  was  partly  used  to  protect  forests  in  the  State  of  New 
York.     You  certainly  should  pay  your  share  toward  forest  preservation. 

We  want  this  National  Forestry  Association  to  be  great  and  strong, 
but  we  want  it  fair  throughout  the  country.  Let  all  contribute  alike, 
just  as  the  money  is  raised  to  run  the  Agricultural  Department. 

Just  one  other  word.  The  mention  was  made  in  some  paper  here  a 
moment  ago  about  Government  control  of  the  open  ranges.     Wyoming 

(162) 


Address  by  Governor  Brooks 


spends  thousands  of  dollars  yearly  trying  to  get  new  settlers.  That  is 
the  best  conservation,  the  very  best  of  all.  We  invite  the  settlers,  and 
our  land  offices  are  busier  now  than  ever  before.  We  ask  you,  Gentle- 
men, not  to  lay  any  burden  upon  us  that  would  prevent  the  settlement 
of  that  great  young  State.  We  want  the  people  to  come  out  there  and 
become  as  one  with  us.     I  thank  you.     [Applause] 


The   Presiding   Officer    (Governor   Deneen)  :  Governor  Cutler  of 
Utah  is  recognized.     [Applause] 


Address  by  John  C.  Cutler 

GOVERNOR    OF    UTAH 

Mr  President  and  Governors: 

I  come  from  the  part  of  the  country  that  used  to  be  called  the  "wild 
and  woolly  West."  I  can  not  say  that  we  are  wild  out  there,  but  I  know 
that  we  are  woolly,  for  we  have  flocks  on  our  thousand  hills.     [Laughter] 

In  listening  to  one  of  the  previous  speakers  in  regard  to  our  sending 
half  a  billion  dollars  out  of  this  country  sightseeing  in  Europe,  I  am 
reminded  of  a  saying  that  originated  I  think  with  one  of  our  citizens  in 
Utah,  which  I  believe  has  kept,  during  the  past  year,  about  as  much 
more  from  leaving  America.  The  saying  is,  "See  Europe  if  you  will, 
but  see  America  first." 

Utah's  interest  in  the  subject  before  this  Conference  is  similar,  of 
course,  to  that  of  the  other  States.  Yet  like  every  other  State  it  has  its 
distinctive  problems  of  waste  and  economy. 

Our  State  was  virgin  soil  a  little  more  than  sixty  years  ago.  All 
development  in  agriculture,  mining,  forestry,  stock-raising,  and  every 
other  direction  has  taken  place  since  that  time.  In  comparison  with 
some  of  the  Commonwealths  here  represented,  Utah  has  only  commenced 
its  work.  And  yet  the  tendencies  toward  waste  of  resources,  which 
other  peoples  say  are  characteristic  of  the  American  Nation,  are  pro- 
nounced in  Utah.  The  only  difference  is  in  the  fact  that  they  have  not 
been  in  operation  quite  so  long. 

Taking  up  in  order  the  different  resources  requiring  conservation,  I 
will  speak  first  of  the  soil.  In  Utah  it  is  vigorous  and  fertile.  It  has 
the  strength  of  youth.  While  the  soil  of  many  of  the  other  States  has 
been  supporting  life  for  centuries,  that  of  Utah  has  been  storing  up 
vitality  and  vigor.     Land  in  all  the  States  has  been  misused,  I  presume, 

(163) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

through  the  planting  and  reaping  of  crops  without  adequate  compensa- 
tion in  the  way  of  fertilizing.  But  this  process  has  not  been  going  on 
quite  so  long  in  Utah.  We  are  equally  guilty  in  the  act,  but  not  quite  so 
in  extent  of  time. 

Then  there  are  vast  stretches  of  plains  and  valleys  in  Utah  which  have 
not  yet  been  touched  with  a  plow.  The  soil  is  as  fertile  as  any  that  has 
ever  been  used.  But  water  is  not  available;  and  arid  farming  has  not 
yet  been  sufficiently  developed  to  permit  these  lands  to  be  used.  Out 
of  the  something  more  than  54,000,000  acres  of  land  in  Utah,  about 
20,000,000  consist  of  mountains  and  lakes;  and  approximately  12,000,000 
acres  are  coal  and  salt  and  similar  lands.  Of  the  remaining  22,000,000 
acres,  only  2,000,000  are  now  irrigated,  and  it  is  probable  that  not  more 
than  5,000,000  additional  acres  can  ever  be  irrigated.  This  leaves 
practically  15,000,000  acres  of  excellent  soil  that  can  be  utilized  agri- 
culturally only  by  the  "dry  farming."  And  this  is  good  arable  land, 
capable  of  producing  splendid  crops  if  we  can  only  get  the  secret  of  secur- 
ing them.  As  only  a  hundred  thousand  acres  or  so  of  this  land  can  be 
said  to  be  under  full  arid  cultivation,  you  can  readily  understand  the 
interest  the  people  of  Utah  take  in  the  demonstration  the  Government  is 
making  of  the  best  methods  to  be  pursued  in  dry  farming  and  in  preserv- 
ing the  fertility  of  the  land. 

As  to  forests,  Utah  is  peculiarly  situated.  All  the  natural  trees  of  any 
value  as  timber  are  on  the  tops  and  slopes  of  high  mountains.  The 
timber  at  all  easy  of  access  has  been  almost  totally  used.  That  remaining 
is  very  hard  to  get  at.  Utah  has  eighteen  National  Forests,  with  a  total 
area  of  7,415,832  acres.  It  is  estimated  that  it  would  be  well  to  place 
under  forest  regulation  no  less  than  1,500,000  acres  more;  but  half  of  this 
is  under  private  ownership,  and  can  not  be  secured  by  the  Government 
except  by  purchase.  The  conservation  of  these  forests  serves  a  double 
purpose;  it  preserves  the  timber  from  destruction,  and  protects  the 
water  supply.     [Applause] 

For  water  for  irrigation  and  culinary  purposes  the  people  depend  almost 
wholly  on  the  winter  snow-fall.  Where  the  mountains  are  covered  with 
forest  growth,  the  ground  is  softened  and  made  pervious  to  the  water. 
Sinking  into  the  ground,  the  water  forms  numerous  springs  below,  and 
these  feed  the  mountain  streams.  Where  the  timber  growth  is  heavy, 
the  snow  is  prevented  from  melting  too  rapidly  and  producing  dis- 
astrous in  shets  in  the  spring.  So  that  from  every  point  of  view  it  is  desir- 
able  that  our  forest  reserves  shall  be  kept  intact. 

The  timber  in  these  reserves  totals  about  5,000,000,000  feet.  Until 
tin  strict  supervision  of  the  Government  was  exercised  over  these  lands, 
disastrous  forest  tires  were  of  frequent  occurrence;  and  millions  of  feet  of 


(164) 


Address  by  Governor  Cutler 


good  timber  have  been  destroyed  in  this  way.  But  by  natural  and 
artificial  reforesting,  these  lands  can  be  largely  replenished  with  timber. 

On  the  matter  of  reforesting  I  am  informed  that  already  some  2,400,000 
trees  have  been  raised  in  a  Government  nursery  to  a  point  where  they 
will  be  ready  for  planting  in  the  forests  next  year.  And  I  am  informed 
that  it  is  the  intention  to  increase  the  capacity  of  the  tree-planting  station 
to  about  2,000,000  trees  a  year.  For  the  present,  most  if  not  all  of  this 
planting  is  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  the  watersheds. 

Our  forests  form  our  watersheds.  At  this  point  the  question  of 
grazing — a  rather  vexed  one,  by  the  way — comes  in  for  consideration. 
Without  attempting  to  discuss  the  matter,  I  would  merely  suggest  that  for 
the  present  it  seems  to  me  that  we  should  err  in  being  too  strict  rather 
than  too  lenient.  While  we  desire  to  protect  the  live-stock  interests,  our 
agricultural  interests  are  of  first  importance.  I  think  it  will  be  well  to 
restrict  the  number  of  cattle  to  be  grazed  on  the  reserves  to  their  actual 
carrying  capacity,  so  that  the  range  will  be  kept  in  at  least  as  good  con- 
dition as  at  present. 

Regarding  grazing  on  the  land  outside  the  reserves,  I  am  informed  that 
some  stock  interests  are  abusing  the  range,  especially  by  moving  their 
stock  from  place  to  place  to  the  injury  of  local  stockmen.  National 
legislation  I  think  should  be  enacted,  providing  for  the  protection  of  these 
ranges  by  making  it  possible  for  bona  fide  settlers  to  secure  the  land  in  a 
certain  vicinity  for  exclusive  grazing,  thus  encouraging  the  sinking  of 
wells  and  the  employment  of  other  means  of  securing  water  for  their 
stock.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  before  long  the  conflicting  interests  involved 
in  this  question  of  grazing  can  be  brought  together  in  a  common  and 
satisfactory  understanding  so  that  the  rights  of  each  can  be  protected. 
This  strikes  me  as  a  very  appropriate  question  for  discussion  and  action 
at  this  Conference. 

In  Utah,  as  much  as  in  any  of  the  States  and  more  than  in  most  of  them, 
the  preservation  of  the  water  means  the  making  of  the  land.  I  may 
illustrate  this  by  referring  to  the  one  great  reclamation  project  which  the 
Government  has  undertaken  and  is  carrying  on  in  Utah,  the  Strawberry 
project.  Water  is  to  be  brought  a  distance  of  more  than  thirty  miles, 
passing  through  a  tunnel  nearly  four  miles  long,  to  reclaim  60,000  acres  of 
arid  land.  The  cost  of  the  project  will  be  about  $4.0  an  acre;  but  the 
value  of  the  land  will  be  increased  about  $100  an  acre.  It  is  as  good  an 
investment  as  I  have  ever  heard  of.  But  the  reclamation  of  the  land  is 
only  one  feature.  The  water  has  a  total  fall  of  about  three  thousand  feet , 
and  the  opportunity  for  power  plants  in  the  course  of  this  fall  is  almost 
unlimited.  Then  the  water  is  brought  from  a  cold  and  comparatively 
unfruitful  region  to  a  valley  so  much  warmer,  by  reason  of  being  so  much 
lower,  that   crops   practically    impossible    in  the  upper  valley  can  be 


(165) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

raised  by  irrigation  in  the  lower.  This  is  one  project.  I  am  sure  that 
others  of  similar  value  can  be  successfully  established  in  our  State.  And 
there  is  no  more  effectual  way  of  preserving  our  resources.     [Applause] 

I  had  the  pleasure  on  the  first  of  this  month  of  visiting  this  great  irriga- 
tion project.  I  was  struck  with  the  thorough  way  the  Government  has  of 
doing  things;  and  the  advantage  of  entrusting  these  great  projects  to  a 
disinterested  Government  instead  of  having  them  in  the  hands  of  interested 
private  parties,  who  would  be  tempted  to  make  money  by  charging  the 
farmers  many  times  over  the  cost  of  the  water. 

In  addition  to  this  Government  project,  the  State  is  financing,  either 
by  loan  or  by  direct  provision  of  funds,  five  or  six  projects  involving  the 
reclamation  of  some  100,000  acres.  These  will  practically  exhaust  the 
State  funds  available  for  this  purpose  for  the  next  two  years.  At  that 
time  other  funds  will  come  in,  and  there  will  be  a  repayment  of  a  portion 
of  the  money  now  being  expended.  And  then  other  projects  may  be 
commenced.  But  the  State  will  always  be  at  a  disadvantage  on  account 
of  limited  funds. 

The  minerals  of  Utah  form  a  very  large  portion  of  its  wealth.  There 
seems  to  be  an  idea  that  it  is  desirable  to  dig  the  minerals  out  of  the  ground 
as  rapidly  as  possible.  For  this  purpose  hordes  of  foreigners  have  been 
brought  into  the  State  in  recent  years,  and  our  mines  have  been  gutted 
at  a  ruinous  rate.  There  is  no  objection  to  the  rapid  enriching  of  the 
mine  owners;  but  it  seems  unfortunate  that  a  large  part  of  the  proceeds 
of  the  mines  should  be  carried  away  by  those  who  have  no  permanent 
interest  here,  and  who  merely  earn  the  money  in  America  for  the  purpose 
of  spending  it  in  Europe.  These  remarks  apply  rather  more  to  metallifer- 
ous than  to  coal  and  iron  mines. 

Our  coal  fields  are  supposed  to  total  nearly  2,000,000  acres.  New 
fields  are  being  opened  each  year.  The  conservation  of  these  mineral 
lands  has  not  been  very  carefully  regarded  until  within  the  past  few 
years.  Those  belonging  to  the  State  were  sold  at  a  ruinously  low  figure, 
and  thus  valuable  public  properties  have  been  frittered  away.  But  of 
recent  years  it  is  becoming  the  policy  of  the  State  to  charge  a  higher 
price  for  mineral  lands  and  even  for  those  lying  in  the  vicinity  of  mineral 
belts.  And  so  far  as  I  am  concerned,  I  should  be  in  favor  of  leasing  coal 
lands  instead  of  selling  them  at  all. 

In  the  southern  part  of  the  State  especially  we  have  large  stretches  of 

iron  lands,  estimated  to  cover  155,000  acres,  and  containing,   1  am  in- 

!    eight  different  varieties  of  hematites.     These  lands  wr  hope  to 

erve  in  large  pari  until  through  public  and  private  enterprise  we 

may  soon  have  a  second  Pittsburg  in  Utah,  in  respect  to  the  production 

of  iron   and   steel.     This  can   best    be  accomplished   through   railroad 

DSiorJ  and  the  encouragemenl  of  capital:    two  things  that  the  loyal 

citizens  of  Utah  are  hoping  for. 

-.6) 


Address  by  Governor  Cutler 


The  precious  metals  cover  an  area,  mostly  mountainous,  of  over  a 
million  acres.  Here  are  fabulous  deposits  of  gold,  silver,  copper,  and 
lead.  I  am  told  that  scarcely  one-third  of  this  vast  area  has  even  been 
prospected.  An  area  of  75  by  40  miles  is  covered  with  hydro-carbons, 
such  as  gilsonite,  elaterite,  asphaltum,  etc.  The  supply  is  practically 
unlimited.  Among  the  coal  reaches  is  to  be  found,  I  am  informed,  the 
only  cannel  coal  in  the  west. 

Summing  up  all  that  has  been  said,  and  much  more  might  be  added,  I 
would  say  that  the  wealth  of  Utah  has  just  begun  to  be  developed.  From 
a  total  of  $412,000,000  in  1900,  it  has  steadily  increased  to  $546,000,000 
in  1907.  For  every  million  dollars  the  Government  spends  in  reclama- 
tion projects,  the  property  of  the  State  will  increase,  I  think,  at  least 
three  millions.  And  in  addition,  the  money  expended  by  the  Govern- 
ment will  be  repaid  according  to  the  terms  on  which  it  is  advanced. 
And  when  the  20,000,000  acres  of  redeemable  land  are  added  to  the 
little  over  2,000,000  acres  already  under  cultivation,  the  wealth  of  the 
State  and  its  power  of  annual  production  will  have  been  multiplied  over 
and  over  again.  While  this  wonderful  increase  of  wealth  is  going  on,  it 
is  the  aim  of  the  citizens  of  the  State  to  conserve  its  wealth  and  resources 
and  avoid  the  destructive  extravagance  which  young  communities,  like 
young  men,  are  likely  to  be  guilty  of  when  they  contemplate  a  fabulous 
increase  of  wealth. 

On  one  matter  I  wish  to  express  the  thanks  of  the  State  of  Utah  to 
President  Roosevelt.  As  you  know,  Utah  has  a  great  number  of  objects 
of  scientific  and  scenic  interest,  both  natural  and  artificial.  Among 
these  are  the  great  bridges  thrown  by  nature  over  immense  chasms  in 
southern  Utah.  These  are  three  in  number.  The  largest  is  222  feet 
high,  and  has  a  span  of  268  feet.  Its  arch  is  157  feet  in  height.  The 
next  largest  is  205  feet  high,  the  archway  having  a  span  of  186  feet  and  a 
height  of  98  feet.  Even  the  smallest  is  a  massive  piece  of  nature's 
handiwork,  118  feet  high  with  an  archway  spanning  194  feet,  and  clearing 
108  feet  above  the  stream  it  spans.  The  thanks  of  the  people  of  Utah 
are  extended  to  the  President  for  his  forethought  in  setting  the  ground 
surrounding  these  bridges  aside  as  a  national  park.  It  is  all  the  more 
appreciated  from  the  fact  that  the  country  round  about  is  dotted  with 
the  ruins  of  cliff-dwellings  and  with  picture  writings  that  need  protection 
from  vandalism  fully  as  much  as  the  natural  bridges. 

Another  matter  is  closely  related  to  this.  As  you  are  aware,  the 
American  bison  has  long  been  in  danger  of  extinction.  There  is  in 
Great  Salt  Lake  an  island  some  30,000  acres  in  extent,  where  the  bison 
thrives  and  multiplies.  A  herd  of  forty  of  them  is  kept  there.  The 
bison  and  part  of  the  island  are  under  private  ownership. 

The  great  broad  principle  underlying  the  subject  of  conservation  is 
whether  or  not  each  succeeding  generation  can  be  sustained  on  the  land 

(167) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


without  impoverishing  it  in  any  respect.  Stated  as  a  question  it  is, 
"Will  each  generation  leave  the  land  as  rich  as  the  preceding  one?" 
It  seems  a  simple  question,  and  yet  the  safety  and  even  the  lives  of  our 
children  and  our  children's  children  will  depend  on  the  answer.  The 
forests,  the  streams,  the  soil,  the  minerals,  and  all  the  other  natural 
elements  of  wealth  should  remain  as  nearly  as  possible  undiminished  as 
the  centuries  pass.  All  of.  this  is  in  the  hands  of  the  People,  with  the 
possible  exception  of  the  preservation  of  the  mineral  wealth. 

Soil  impoverished  by  crops  can  be  enriched  with  fertilizers.  Forests 
depleted  by  the  lumberman  or  fire  or  decay  can  be  replenished  by  the 
skillful  forester.  Water  turned  from  its  natural  channel  to  sink  into  the 
thirsty  ground  can  be  augmented  by  the  bounty  of  our  Government  in 
reclamation  projects.  Grazing  lands  made  bare  by  the  flockmaster  can 
be  restored  to  greenness  by  strict  regulation  and  natural  growth.  Hence 
I  think  that  nearly  all  the  elements  of  natural  wealth  our  country  is 
blessed  with  can  be  husbanded  and  preserved,  so  that  our  succeeding 
generations  can  not  justly  rise  up  and  censure  us  for  bequeathing  to 
them  a  bankrupt  patrimony.  It  is  the  laudable  desire  of  President 
Roosevelt  and  his  associates  to  aid  in  this  work  of  conservation.  So  far 
as  I  am  concerned,  Gentlemen,  I  am  going  to  give  him  my  loyal  support 
in  this  undertaking.     [Applause] 


The  Presiding  Officer  (Governor  Deneen):  Governor  Gooding  is 
called  for,  and  is  recognized. 

Address  by  Frank  R.  Gooding 

GOVERNOR    OF    IDAHO 

Mr  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Conference: 

I  have  been  deeply  moved  by  the  great  papers  and  addresses  that  have 
been  presented  before  this  body.  In  my  judgment,  no  citizen  can  per- 
form a  greater  service  to  his  country  than  by  assisting  in  laying  the 
foundation  of  a  work  that  will  protect  and  bring  about  the  fullest  use 
and  the  highest  possible  development  of  all  our  great  natural  resources. 

We  have  built  here  a  great  Nation  without  a  thought  of  tomorrow. 
We  will  grow  still  greater,  even  if  we  follow  the  same  old  methods  that 
we  have  followed  in  the  past,  but  we  can  not  reach  our  full  share  of 
greatness  as  a  Nation  unless,  before  it  is  too  late,  we  throw  safeguards 
around  those  resources  that  have  made  us  the  mightiest  Nation  on  the 
earth,  and  protect  and  conserve  them  so  they  may  be  developed  to  the 
fullest  extent  for  the  benefit  of  this  and  future  generations.     [Applause] 

(i  68) 


Address  by  Governor  Gooding 


This  work  of  laying  the  foundations  of  a  greater  Nation  should  receive 
the  support  and  encouragement  of  all  the  People  of  the  United  States. 

But  by  whom,  and  how  best,  can  this  work  be  accomplished?  This 
is  the  great  question  that  confronts  the  American  People.  To  bring 
about  the  best  results  there  must  be  a  cooperation  of  all  the  People, 
more  especially  those  in  the  States  and  Territories  wherein  lie  the  national 
forest  reserves.  Too  much  care  can  not  be  given  to  the  interests,  the 
liberties,  and  the  rights  of  the  People  of  those  States  that  have  given  up 
so  much  of  their  domain  to  the  national  forests.  They  have  a  right  to 
insist  on  the  fullest  use,  in  an  intelligent  way,  of  all  the  great  natural 
resources  which  lie  within  the  borders  of  their  respective  States.  It  is  in 
the  use  and  development  of  our  great  resources  that  lie  the  hope,  the 
pride,  and  the  ambition  of  the  People  of  my  State,  to  build  up  one  of  the 
greatest  Commonwealths  in  the  Union.     [Applause] 

In  this  great  work  there  is  enough  for  us  all  to  do.  Some  of  it  is  of 
necessity  national  in  its  scope.  The  work  of  improving  our  large  rivers 
for  navigation  can  best  be  done  by  the  general  Government.  [Applause] 
But  that  which  lies  wholly  within  the  borders  of  one  State,  can,  in  my 
judgment,  with  the  passage  of  proper  laws  by  Congress,  be  best  done  by 
the  People  of  that  State.  We  need  the  strong  arm  of  the  general  Gov- 
ernment in  the  initiation  of  this  great  work,  but,  if  it  is  to  be  successful, 
the  State  must  be  made  an  interested  party  in  the  administration  and 
development  of  its  own  resources. 

Idaho  has  given  a  practical  demonstration  of  what  a  State  can  do  for 
the  development  of  its  own  lesources,  in  the  reclamation  of  its  desert 
lands,  and  the  storage  of  its  flood  waters,  under  the  law  known  as  the 
Carey  Act,  passed  by  Congress  in  1894,  giving  to  each  State  in  the  arid 
portion  of  America  a  million  acres  of  land  to  be  reclaimed  under  State 
supervision.  Idaho  has  demonstrated  beyond  the  question  of  a  doubt 
that  the  people  of  a  State  are  best  fitted  for  the  development  of  their 
own  resources.  The  work  of  reclamation  of  arid  lands  by  the  general 
Government  and  by  the  State  lie  side  by  side  in  Idaho,  where  the 
Government  has  done  a  great  work,  for  which  we  are  all  thankful;  yet, 
valuable  as  this  work  is,  the  State,  in  the  same  length  of  time,  and  under 
the  same  conditions,  has  brought  about  a  state  of  development  many 
times  as  great  as  that  accomplished  by  the  general  Government.  Idahc 
has  constructed  under  the  Carey  Act  the  largest  irrigation  canals  in  the 
world,  with  the  exception  of  those  built  by  the  British  government  in 
India  and  Egypt.  The  State  has  built  and  has  under  construction  irri- 
gation works  that  will  reclaim  more  than  a  million  acres  of  desert  land, 
and  is  now  asking  the  general  Government  for  two  million  acres  more, 
under  the  Carey  Act,  to  continue  this  great  work  of  home  building. 

Idaho  is  justly  proud  of  her  great  development  under  the  Carey  Act. 
Within  the  last  four  years  we  have  turned  water  on  more  than  300,000 

(169) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

acres  of  what  was  then  a  barren  waste,  and  transformed  it  into  fields  of 
beautiful  grass  and  waving  grain.  We  have  made  possible  the  building 
of  homes  for  more  than  60,000  people,  and  have  created  a  new  wealth  for 
the  State  of  more  than  $50,000,000.  Yet  in  this  work  of  home  building, 
the  State  has  only  made  a  beginning.  Within  the  next  five  years  Idaho 
will  have  completed  all  of  its  irrigation  works  for  the  first  million  acres 
of  Carey  lands,  thus  giving  an  opportunity  for  homes  for  more  than 
250,000  people,  and  creating  wealth  in  excess  of  $500,000,000.  The  State 
of  Idaho  will  continue  this  great  work  until  all  its  arid  lands  are  reclaimed 
and  every  acre  made  available  and  beneficial  to  mankind.  When  the 
story  can  be  written  of  Idaho's  development  by  irrigation  it  will  tell  of 
the  reclamation  of  more  than  5,000,000  acres  of  as  rich  land  as  can  be 
found  anywhere  in  the  world.  It  will  be  land  that  will  equal  in  pro- 
ductiveness 20,000,000  acres  in  the  eastern  States,  for  under  irrigation 
there  are  no  failures  or  half-crops,  but  every  year  a  full  harvest  for  the 
man  that  tills  the  soil. 

Idaho  is  especially  fortunate  in  its  natural  waterfalls.  I  feel  that  I  can 
say  we  have  more  opportunities  for  the  development  of  power  than  any 
other  State  in  the  Union.  The  work  of  developing  our  water  power  by 
the  construction  of  great  plants  is  going  hand  in  hand  with  the  recla- 
mation of  our  arid  lands.  The  State  is  not  only  reclaiming  its  arid 
lands,  but  has  entered  into  eontracts  for  the  construction  of  large  storage 
reservoirs  that  will  control  the  flood  waters  of  some  of  our  rivers.  Within 
the  next  ten  years  my  State  will  have  under  control  all  of  its  flood  waters, 
which  will  be  used  for  reclaiming  our  desert  lands.  This  will  be  a  great 
relief  to  the  people  who  live  in  the  lower  valleys  through  which  these 
rivers  empty  into  the  sea. 

What  Idaho  has  done  and  is  doing  in  reclaiming  her  arid  lands  and 
controlling  the  flood  waters  of  the  State,  it  can  do  in  the  protection  of 
the  forest  and  the  range.  The  People  of  Idaho  fully  understand  the 
importance  of  the  forests.  They  know  that  the  forests  conserve  the 
waters  that  are  as  the  life  blood  of  the  State,  and  if  they  are  given  an 
opportunity  they  will  conserve  and  protect  the  forests  for  all  time — con- 
sistent with  an  intelligent  use  by  the  People.  Idaho  has  already  passed 
a  law  for  the  protection  of  her  forests  on  State  lands.  The  law  provides 
that,  wherever  the  land  is  more  valuable  for  forest  than  for  home  build- 
in-,  the  timber  shall  be  cut  under  State  supervision,  looking  to  the  pro- 
ion  of  the  young  trees,  and  throwing  such  other  safeguards  around 
it  as  will  insure  its  success  as  a  State  forest.  In  my  judgment,  the 
interests  of  the  whole  country  would  be  besl  served  if  Congress  would 
turn  over  to  the  States  all  of  the  public  domain,  under  proper  laws  look- 
ing If)  the  protection  of  the  forest  and  the  range,  to  be  administered  and 
developed  by  the  citizens  of  those  States.     I  have  become  very  much 

('70) 


Address  by  Governor  Gooding 


alarmed  of  late  at  the  public  sentiment  growing  against  the  administra- 
tion of  the  national  forest  reserves  in  my  State,  for  I  know  their  adminis- 
tration can  not  be  successful  without  the  support  of  the  people.  There 
are  good  reasons  for  this  adverse  public  sentiment,  for  at  times  proper 
consideration  has  not  been  given  the  rights  of  the  people.  Great  tracts 
of  land  have  been  included  in  the  reserves  upon  which  there  is  no  forest, 
nor  ever  can  or  will  be  a  forest. 

More  of  the  area  of  my  State  is  in  national  forest  reserves  than  that  of 
any  other  State  or  Territory  in  the  Union.  Forty  percent  of  my  State 
is  today  in  national  forest  reserves,  an  area  greater  in  extent  than  is 
embraced  within  the  States  of  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island, 
Maine,  Vermont,  New  Hampshire,  New  Jersey,  Delaware,  and  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia.  In  all  the  national  forest  reserves  in  the  United 
States  we  have  an  area  almost  as  great  as  was  embraced  within  the  thir- 
teen original  States.  These  great  reserves  extend  from  the  borders  of 
Mexico  on  the  south  to  the  British  possessions  on  the  north.  The  varied 
conditions  that  of  necessity  exist  over  this  vast  extent  of  territory  make 
it  impracticable,  in  my  judgment,  to  accomplish  the  best  results  by  its 
administration  here  in  Washington. 

The  man  is  not  yet  born  that  can  prescribe  rules  and  regulations  for 
the  successful  administration  of  so  vast  a  territory  as  this,  for  in  no  two 
States  in  the  Union  are  conditions  the  same.  What  might  be  practical 
in  one  State  might  be  ruinous  in  another.  I  have  seen  much  of  the 
administration  of  the  national  forest  reserves  in  my  State  during  the 
past  few  years.  I  have  been  its  friend.  I  have  given  it  my  support, 
hoping  it  meant  something  for  the  advancement  and  development  of 
Idaho;  but  after  more  than  three  years  of  close  observation,  I  am  forced 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  theory  is  all  wrong,  and  that  the  work  the 
Government  is  trying  to  do  properly  belongs  to  the  State. 

I  have  a  high  regard  for  the  Chief  Forester.  He  is  trying  to  do  a 
great  work,  a  work  that  must  be  done,  but  it  never  will  be  successful 
until  the  States  are  made  interested  parties  in  the  development  of  their 
own  resources.  I  know  of  no  reason  why  the  States  should  not  be 
entrusted  with  the  protection  and  development  of  all  the  natural  resources 
that  lie  within  their  borders.  The  West  is  not  lacking  in  intelligence,  in 
courage,  in  patriotism,  or  in  appreciation  of  the  marvelous  resources  that 
a  kind  Providence  has  given  us  with  so  generous  a  hand.  Idaho  is  asking 
for  an  opportunity  to  develop  her  own  resources.  We  desire  the  assist- 
ance of  the  general  Government,  not  its  guardianship.  Idaho  is  asking 
for  the  same  spirit  of  the  Constitution  that  has  been  given  to  all  the 
States  east  of  the  Rockies,  and  her  citizens  will  demonstrate  to  the  whole 
world  that  she  is  worthy  of  Statehood.     [Applause] 


(171) 
56254—09 14 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

The   Presiding   Officer  (Governor   Deneen)  :  Governor   Norris  of 
Montana  is  recognized. 


Address  of  Edwin  L.  Norris 

GOVERNOR    OF    MONTANA 

Mr  Chairman  and  Gentlemen: 

You  doubtless  all  have  heard  of  Montana  as  an  icebound  State  that 
produces  chiefly  icebergs,  cold  weather,  and  blizzards.  If  you  have  so 
heard,  you  have  been  absolutely  misinformed.  It  may  not  be  quite  so 
warm  in  Montana  at  all  times  as  it  is  here  in  Washington  today,  but  our 
State  certainly  has  a  most  excellent  climate. 

Montana  is  populated  by  as  progressive,  as  intelligent,  and  as  patriotic 
a  people  as  there  are  on  earth.  A  large  proportion  of  our  people  came 
from  the  East.  They  were  born  and  bred  and  brought  up  in  the  old 
commonwealths  of  the  Eastern  section  of  the  Union,  and  we  feel  pride 
in  the  fact  that  the  East  has  contributed  some  of  its  best  blood  to  the 
development  of  our  splendid  State.     [Applause] 

We  do  not  object  to  those  spots  on  the  map  showing  national  forests, 
although  they  represent  21,000,000  acres  in  Montana;  we  would  not 
blot  them  out.  [Applause]  But  I  would  suggest,  Mr  Secretary  of  the 
Interior,  that  there  be  no  more.  We  have  sufficient.  We  favor  forest 
reserves,  not  because  they  will  protect  the  soil — our  soil  does  not  wash 
away;  not  for  the  lumber  which  you  gentlemen  seem  largely  concerned 
about,  but  is  not  to  us  of  supreme  importance — although  we  are  just  as 
much  interested  in  that  as  you  are — but  we  want  forest  reserves  to 
protect  the  forests  because  the  forests  preserve  the  watersheds.  They 
give  us  water  for  the  reclamation  of  arid  lands;  and  Montana  generally, 
although  heretofore  known  as  a  great  mining  State  only,  will  in  a  few 
years  be  known  as  one  of  the  great  agricultural  States.     [Applause] 

When  I  hear  you  gentlemen  talk  of  producing  ten  or  fifteen  or  twenty 
bushels  of  wheat  per  acre,  I  am  moved  to  say  that  I  should  like  to  take 
you  into  the  Judith  basin  in  our  State,  where  last  year  they  produced 
sixty  bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre,  and  were  not  specially  vain  of  that 
yield  either.  With  irrigation  we  can  produce  100  to  125  bushels  of  oats 
to  the  acre,  oats  weighing  forty-two  pounds  to  the  bushel,  whereas  I 
believe  the  usual  weight  is  thirty-two  pounds  to  the  bushel.  We  want 
to  preserve  the  forests;  and  I  shall  join  in  the  recommendation  by 
Governor  Folk  when  I  return  to  Montana. 

But  we  do  proles!  and  we  do  object  to  the  employment  of  a  forest 
reserve  as  a  means  for  the  regulation  of  the  ranges  of  the  West.     In  other 

(172) 


Address  by  Governor  Norris 


words,  we  do  object  to  the  levying  of  tribute  on  the  stockmen  who  graze 
their  herds  and  their  flocks,  in  order  to  secure  revenue  for  the  protection 
of  the  forest  reserves.  If  the  timber  of  the  country  belongs  to  all  the 
People,  then  why  should  not  all  the  People  pay  for  the  protection  of 
the  forests?  Why  levy  tribute  on  Montana  for  forest  protection,  and 
then  expect  all  the  People  to  share  equally  in  the  proceeds?  Is  that  fair? 
We  thank  you,  Mr  Secretary,  Gentlemen,  for  the  work  of  reclamation 
that  has  been  done  in  the  West.  Last  year  Mr  Secretary  Garfield 
opened  one  of  the  most  important  Government  irrigation  projects  in 
Montana.  We  heartily  thank  the  Department  for  the  splendid  work  it 
is  doing  in  that  line.  But  when  it  comes  to  the  ranges  and  the  water 
power,  we  do  say  that  while  you  have  taken  one-fifth  of  our  area — which 
we  willingly  give,  because  we  have  plenty  left — you  should  at  least  give 
us  the  income  from  the  ranges  and  let  us  have  the  free  and  unconditional 
use  of  the  water  power  in  our  own  streams.     [Applause] 


The  Presiding  Officer   (Governor  Deneen)  :  President  James,   of 
the  University  of  Illinois,  has  the  floor. 


Address  by  Dr  Edmund  J.  James 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE   UNIVERSITY   OF   ILLINOIS 

Mr  Chairman  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Conference: 

The  serious  students  of  political  economy  throughout  the  country 
have  been  greatly  pleased  at  the  calling  of  this  Conference  and  at  the 
published  announcement  of  its  purposes  and  its  program.  Those  of  us 
who  have  been  associated  as  teachers  and  professors  of  political  economy 
in  our  schools  and  colleges  for  the  last  thirty  years  are  especially  pleased 
at  the  practical  outcome  of  what  may  be  called  our  theoretical  efforts. 
The  practical  statesmen  of  the  country,  including  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  the  Governors  of  the  Commonwealths,  and  the  heads  of 
the  great  departments  of  administration  in  State  and  in  Nation,  are 
bringing  here  into  the  range  of  practical  politics  what  we  academic 
students  have  been  urging  in  our  lectures  and  our  writings  upon  the 
attention  of  the  American  People  for  more  than  twenty  years. 

We  organized  some  twenty-five  years  ago  in  the  city  of  Saratoga  what 
was  known  as  The  American  Economic  Association,  made  up  primarily 
of  the  professors  in  political  economy  in  American  colleges  and  univer- 
sities. The  purpose  of  that  association  was  the  study  of  the  principles 
underlying  the  economic  exploitation  of  our  national  resources  and  the 

(i73) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

means  by  which  the  efficiency,  industrial  and  commercial,  of  the  American 
People,  could  be  increased. 

An  outline  of  a  program  of  the  desirable  development  in  the  imme- 
diate future  was  prepared  by  a  committee,  of  which  I  had  the  honor  to 
be  a  member.  It  is  a  source  of  great  satisfaction  to  those  of  us  who 
were  active  in  this  initiatory  work  a  generation  ago,  to  find  that  the 
policy  there  outlined  has  become  the  policy  not  of  one  political  party 
but  of  all  political  parties  of  the  Nation. 

The  questions  before  this  Conference  are  primarily,  in  our  opinion, 
economic  questions.  They  are  not  questions  of  geology  or  botany  or 
mining  in  a  narrow  sense,  but  at  bottom  questions  of  economy;  that  is, 
questions  of  so  organizing  and  utilizing  our  national  resources  as  to 
produce  in  the  large  and  in  the  long  run  the  greatest  return  in  the  form 
of  material  wealth  to  the  Nation. 

No  student  of  political  economy  can  close  his  eyes  to  the  fact  that 
there  have  been  very  serious  and  short-sighted  blunders  made  by  our 
people  in  the  mad  rush  for  the  most  immediate  exploitation  of  our 
natural  resources  and  the  most  rapid  piling  up  of  our  wealth.  There  is 
no  doubt  that  we  have  in  many  directions  wasted  our  patrimony;  in 
our  haste  to  get  rich  we  have  overreached  ourselves  and  undermined  the 
very  basis  on  which  a  permanent  national  industry  and  a  permanent 
national  life  must  rest.  It  is  high  time  to  call  a  halt  in  this  mad  pursuit 
of  gain,  and  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  his  intimate  advisers, 
and  especially  Mr  Gifford  Pinchot,  who  perhaps  has  done  more  than  any 
other  one  man  to  call  the  attention  of  the  Nation  to  this  riotous  waste 
of  our  natural  wealth,  deserve  the  gratitude  of  us  all,  individually  and 
collectively,  and  the  gratitude  of  posterity,  for  calling  attention  in  this 
effective  way  to  this  particular  form  of  national  folly. 

Some  of  our  economists,  however,  have  called  attention  to  one  or  two 
things  which  perhaps  ought  not  to  be  lost  sight  of  altogether,  even  in  a 
Conference  of  this  sort,  which  aims  to  fix  public  attention  upon  certain 
grave  mistakes  in  our  national  policy. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  we  have  been  extremely  wasteful  in  our  mining 
processes,  taken  as  a  whole,  and  it  is  high  time  we  should  direct  public 
attention  to  the  necessity  of  greater  efficiency  in  our  methods  of  mining 
than  has  characterized  our  operations  thus  far.  But  after  all,  the  deter- 
mination of  what  is  the  proper  mining  policy  turns  essentially  upon 
economic  considerations.  Economic  exploitation  of  our  mining  resources 
docs  not  consist  in  making  the  utmost  possible  saving  in  the  narrow 
sense  of  the  term.  It  would,  for  instance,  be  perhaps  entirely  feasible 
in  the  mining  of  coal  or  iron  to  extract  90%  or  95%  of  the  coal  or  iron 
from  the  mines  which  are  opened,  and  yet  such  a  policy  might  be  after 
all  uneconomic.     In  other  words,  it  would  probably  cost  more  than  the 

(174) 


Address  by  President  James 


entire  coal  is  worth  to  extract  from  the  mines  99%  of  the  coal  to  be 
found  in  them.  It  would  probably  cost  quite  as  much  as  the  gold  and 
silver  and  iron  are  worth  to  undertake  to  extract  99%  of  the  metals  to 
be  found  in  the  mines.  That  is  to  say,  the  extraction  of  all  the  valuable 
material  would  be  such  an  expensive  proceeding  as  to  make  mining  itself 
unprofitable.  This,  of  course,  would  be  uneconomic  in  the  highest 
degree.  The  question,  therefore,  as  to  what  the  best  mining  policy  is 
must  turn  at  bottom  upon  the  fundamental  question  as  to  what  method 
will,  everything  considered,  turn  out  the  highest  possible  value. 

It  would  be  quite  feasible,  therefore,  though  I  should  think  there  is 
very  little  probability  of  such  a  state  of  things,  to  adopt  a  set  of  mining 
laws  which  would  hamper  the  development  of  the  mining  industry  to 
an  entirely  unreasonable  extent,  as  I  am  quite  sure  some  of  the  mining 
codes  of  other  countries  have  done. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  we  have  exploited  our  farms  and  our  lands  in 
many  parts  of  the  country  in  a  very  wasteful  way;  that  we  have  ex- 
ploited our  soils  in  some  cases  to  such  an  extent  as  almost  to  destroy 
them  and  to  make  it  impossible  to  restore  them  except  by  a  very  large 
expenditure,  if  at  all.  Such  a  policy  is  certainly  suicidal  and  the  igno- 
rance and  carelessness  which  have  marked  our  policy  in  regard  to  the 
forests  certainly  call  for  the  highest  condemnation.     [Applause] 

But  economic  students  would  insist  that  the  fact  that  certain  farms  in 
the  United  States  have  passed  out  of  cultivation  does  not  of  itself  prove 
that  the  agricultural  policy  of  the  Nation  has  in  the  large  been  a  mis- 
taken one.  Some  of  our  expositions  in  the  discussion  of  this  question 
have  seemed  to  imply  that  the  ideal  agricultural  policy,  from  an  eco- 
nomic point  of  view,  would  be  to  make  every  farm  produce  more  the 
second  year  than  it  did  the  first  and  more  the  second  decade  than  it  did 
the  first.  Underlying  common  expositions  on  the  subject  of  the  wast- 
ing of  the  soil  resources  is  the  notion  that  the  policy  pursued  by  the 
People  of  the  United  States  in  their  occupation  and  exploitation  of  the 
soil  has  been  on  the  whole  and  in  the  large  a  short-sighted  one.  No 
one  would  deny  of  course  that  there  are  many  illustrations  of  waste 
and  criminal  waste  in  the  history  of  our  soil  development.  But  on  the 
whole  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  any  other  policy  could  have  been  outlined 
and  made  effective  by  Government  interposition,  which  would  have 
accomplished,  on  the  whole,  better  results  than  those  which  have  been 
actually  achieved.  Many  farms  in  New  England  and  New  York  and 
some  parts  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  have  in  the  last  two  genera- 
tions fallen  out  of  cultivation.  This  fact  in  itself  does  not  necessarily 
prove  that  the  agricultural  policy  of  the  State  or  Nation  has  been  bad. 
On  the  contrary  the  fact  that  those  unproductive  farms  fell  out  of  culti- 
vation was  in  many  instances  a  sign  of  one  of  the  greatest  blessings  that 


(i75) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

ever  came  to  the  American  people,  namely,  the  possession  and  opening 
up  of  magnificent  opportunities  in  the  Mississippi  valley  and  the  West. 
He  would  have  been  a  foolish  man  to  persist  in  cultivating  the  stony 
side  of  a  New  England  hill  which  with  the  greatest  effort  would  produce 
ten  bushels  of  corn  to  the  acre  when  with  less  than  half  the  effort  he 
could  take  up  and  cultivate  soil  which  would  produce  fifty  and  a  hun- 
dred bushels  to  the  acre.  If  by  any  governmental  policy  we  should 
have  held  in  cultivation  the  farms  of  New  England  and  northern  New 
York  and  the  hills  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,  it  would  probably  be 
looked  on  today  as  one  of  the  proofs  of  a  short-sighted  national  policy. 
Such  a  policy  would  have  doomed  the  American  farmer  during  its  con- 
tinuance to  poverty  and  to  the  simple  life,  if  you  please,  of  the  poorer 
farms  of  New  England  during  the  50's  of  the  last  century.  Those  farms 
fell  out  of  cultivation  not  because  they  were  exhausted,  for  in  many 
instances  they  produced  more  than  when  they  were  first  cultivated,  nor 
because  we  can  not  cultivate  them  today  as  well  as  we  could  cultivate 
them  when  they  were  first  put  under  the  plow,  if  we  were  only  willing 
to  accept  the  return  which  they  would  bring  us;  but  because  the  stand- 
ard of  life  among  the  American  people  has  advanced  to  a  point  where 
the  methods  of  the  cultivation  of  the  50's  applied  to  those  farms  will 
not  yield  us  that  with  which  we  are  or  should  be  content. 

I  believe  it  is  true  that  owing  to  the  impetus  to  agricultural  investi- 
gation and  agricultural  improvement  which  was  given  by  the  opening 
up  of  the  enormous  agricultural  resources  of  the  Mississippi  valley,  such 
progress  has  been  made  in  agriculture  that  we  are  rapidly  nearing  the 
point  when  we  can  again  take  these  deserted  farms  into  cultivation 
because  by  the  application  of  our  wider  scientific  knowledge  we  shall  be 
able  to  make  them  yield  a  return  more  nearly  in  proportion  to  the  labor 
expended  upon  them  than  they  ever  did  in  the  palmiest  days  of  their 
past  history. 

The  same  statement  would  apply  to  the  poorer  lands  in  nearly  every 
part  of  the  country.  It  is  not  in  the  national  interest  that  they  should 
be  kept  in  cultivation  simply  for  the  sake  of  keeping  them  in  cultivation 
when  there  are  other  lands  which  will  make  a  larger  return  to  national 
endeavor. 

This  fact,  however,  does  not,  of  course,  in  the  slightest  degree,  palliate 
or  justify  or  alter  the  fact  that  in  the  exploitation  of  our  soils  as  a  whole 
we  have  not  until  very  recently,  and  then  only  in  certain  portions  of 
the  country,  begun  to  adopt  as  a  general  system  that  method  of  agri- 
culture which  science  has  demonstrated  to  be  perfectly  practical  and 
which  if  pursued  wisely  and  on  a  large  scale  will  preserve  forever  the 
conditions  of  a  sound  and  progressive  agriculture. 

So  much  for  what  the  economists  have  urged  and  do  urge  today,  and 
which  view  we  pray  shall  not  be  overlooked. 

(176) 


Address  by  President  James 


I  desire  to  call  attention  of  this  Conference  to  one  other  matter — one 
in  which  I  think  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  his  advisers 
and  the  Governors  here  present,  and  the  people  of  the  various  States 
are  all  alike  interested. 

We  all  agree  that  we  should  preserve  our  natural  resources  in  the 
sense  that  we  should  stop  waste,  or  the  mere  sacrifice  of  national  re- 
sources without  adequate  return.  While  I  feel  that  it  is  almost  impos- 
sible to  exaggerate  the  loss  which  has  come  to  the  Nation  from  our 
ignorant  and  careless  policies  in  regard  to  the  forests  and  our  streams, 
yet  I  think  there  has  been  just  a  little  tendency,  perhaps  a  natural  tend- 
ency, among  all  of  us,  in  realizing  this  waste  and  realizing  the  necessity 
of  stopping  it,  to  exaggerate  some  of  the  elements  in  the  case.  The 
statement,  for  instance,  was  made  by  one  of  our  number  yesterday  and 
again  today,  that  natural  resources  once  used  up  are  no  longer  available, 
and  that  there  is  no  opportunity  to  increase  our  natural  resources. 

I  desire  to  join  issue  on  this  latter  point  and  very  sharply.  After  all 
is  said  and  done,  the  most  striking  illustrations  of  the  wise  development 
of  natural  resources  and  of  the  creation  of  a  high  civilization  have  been 
afforded  by  those  peoples,  which,  without  great  natural  resources,  have 
developed  great  nations.  The  natural  resources  of  the  Dutch  people 
were  very  small  indeed.  They  were  nearly  entirely  confined  to  sand 
and  salt  water,  and  yet  they  have  developed  one  of  the  highest  civili- 
zations of  the  world,  and  their  history  demonstrates  beyond  a  doubt 
that,  after  all,  in  the  long  run  and  in  the  large,  brains  count  for  more  in 
the  development  of  wealth  and  civilization  than  even  natural  wealth 
in  the  ordinary  sense  of  that  term. 

It  is  possible  for  us  by  taking  thought  to  increase  our  stature,  at  least 
in  industrial  development.  It  is  possible  by  taking  thought  to  change 
the  face  of  nature  and  make  the  desert  blossom  like  the  rose;  and  for 
my  part  I  should  infinitely  prefer  a  people  which  was  somewhat  wasteful, 
judged  by  ordinary  standards,  of  the  stored-up  wealth  in  the  earth  but 
one  which  by  the  development  of  its  own  ability  and  its  own  powers 
undertook  to  heighten  the  value  of  these  resources  by  the  study  of 
nature,  to  find  out  how  to  increase  these  resources,  how  to  convert 
seemingly  dead  and  useless  matter  into  the  most  valuable  of  natural 
resources.  I  say  such  a  people  would  have  far  greater  chances  of  work- 
ing out  and  maintaining  a  high  civilization  than  a  people  which,  with- 
out the  use  of  its  brains,  simply  depended  upon  the  narrow-minded 
saving  of  the  so-called  natural  wealth. 

The  magnificent  work  of  our  Department  of  Agriculture  in  the  city  of 
Washington  has  demonstrated  that  we  can  increase  our  natural  re- 
sources. Whenever  we  naturalize  a  new  crop  and  make  possible  a  double 
or  triple  product  from  a  given  acre,  we  have  increased  our  natural  re- 


(177) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

sources;  and  when  by  applying  intelligence  and  a  proper  method  of  cul- 
tivation we  make  unnecessary,  or  if  you  please  relatively  unnecessary, 
the  addition  of  fertilizers  and  the  addition  of  more  labor  to  produce  a 
larger  crop,  we  have  certainly  added  to  our  natural  resources  in  a  very 
real  sense.  When  we  shall  find  how  to  obtain  from  common  clay  in 
almost  illimitable  amounts  a  useful  metal  like  aluminum  we  are  adding 
to  our  natural  resources,  and  in  my  opinion  we  shall  add  far  more  to 
our  natural  resources  by  developing  our  ability  to  increase  them  than 
we  can  ever  do  by  mere  processes  of  saving;  if  those  processes  imply  a 
limitation  upon  our  production  and  upon  the  increase  of  our  artificial 
wealth,  if  you  please,  that  is  upon  the  conversion  of  our  natural  wealth 
into  the  higher  products  of  civilized  life. 

At  the  instigation  of  the  Federal  Government  the  Governments  of  the 
individual  States  have  now  created  in  every  Commonwealth  great  ex- 
periment stations  in  the  field  of  agriculture.  The  investigations  made 
in  these  stations  not  only  point  the  way  by  which  we  may  save  the 
waste  in  the  exploitation  of  our  fields,  but  also  the  way  by  which  we 
may  add  to  their  productiveness  without  increasing  in  any  way  the 
amount  of  labor  necessary  to  produce  the  crops.  They  will  introduce 
new  crops,  more  fruitful  than  the  old.  They  will  improve  the  plants 
themselves  and  thus  add  to  our  natural  resources,  perhaps  in  a  degree 
out  of  all  proportion  to  the  waste  which  we  have  indulged  in. 

I  desire  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  we  may  do  just  as  much  in 
the  field  of  manufacturing,  of  engineering,  of  commerce,  in  the  way  of 
increasing  in  a  true  sense  our  natural  resources  as  in  that  of  agriculture. 
That  perhaps  is  an  idle  dream  of  the  chemist  who  imagines,  as  some  of 
the  German  chemists  do,  that  he  is  going  to  be  able  to  turn  clay  into 
bread  in  his  laboratory  without  its  passing  through  any  of  the  changes 
through  which  vegetation  passes  in  its  natural  course.  It  may  be  an 
idle  dream  of  the  physicist  that  he  shall  ultimately  yoke  the  sunlight 
and  make  it  a  means  of  lighting  and  driving  our  machinery,  but  cer- 
tainly we  have  reached  a  point  where  we  can  see  day  after  day  new 
additions  to  our  power,  things  which  constitute  a  real  addition  to  our 
natural  resources— not  a  mere  addition  which  comes  from  extra  work  or 
from  the  application  of  extra  capital,  but  from  the  discovery  of  new 
facts  about  the  things  with  which  we  stand  face  to  face. 

It  is  indeed  a  sin  and  a  shame  for  us  to  waste  the  resources  and  the 
power  locked  up  in  our  coal  beds,  our  natural  gas  fields  and  our  oil  fields 
as  we  have-  been  doing.  That  is  to  say  when  we  throw  away  without 
any  return  whatever  the  enormous  possibilities  of  wealth  represented 
by  these-  natural  products,  and  anything  which  is  necessary  to  enable  us 
to  stop  this  waste  and  make  effective  these  elements  of  power  should 
receive  our  hearty  support.  But  for  my  part,  Friends,  I  do  not  think 
that,  if  w<  ise  us  we  ought  true  economy  in  the  utilization  of  these 

(178) 


Address  by  President  James 


resources,  we  ought  in  any  sense  to  stop  their  exploitation  for  fear  that 
we  shall  exhaust  them  and  leave  our  posterity  without  any  means  of 
heating  or  lighting  or  driving  machinery.  On  the  contrary,  if  we  will 
spend  money  on  the  education  of  our  people  as  we  ought,  calling  their 
attention  not  merely  to  the  desirability  of  preventing  waste  but  to  the 
infinitely  greater  desirability  of  developing  every  unit  of  intellectual  and 
moral  capacity  to  its  utmost,  we  shall  be  traveling  the  road  toward  the 
largest  development  of  national  wealth  and  power. 

So,  speaking  for  the  economic  students  of  the  country,  I  desire  to  ask 
this  Conference  and  the  Governors  present  here  today,  when  they  go 
home  to  their  States,  not  merely  to  appoint  forestry  commissions  and 
river  improvement  commissions,  coal  and  oil  commissions,  and  other 
agencies  for  the  purpose  of  preventing  the  uneconomic  exploitation  and 
waste  of  our  natural  resources,  great  and  important  as  these  commis- 
sions will  be;  but  to  keep  in  mind  this  fact,  that  our  greatest  national, 
nay,  our  greatest  natural  resource,  after  all  is  said  and  done,  is  the  brains 
of  our  people,  and  that  money  spent  on  the  development  of  intellectual 
keenness  and  alertness  will  as  surely  bring  in  as  large  and  even  larger 
returns  to  the  Nation  as  any  means  which  may  be  devised  for  the  purpose 
of  preventing  the  immediate  even  though  wasteful  utilization  of  the 
raw  products  of  nature. 

In  the  development  of  these  great  experiment  stations  and  in  the  de- 
velopment of  the  great  schools  of  agriculture  and  engineering  and  com- 
merce we  have  a  means  of  adding  to  our  natural  resources  even  more 
rapidly  than  we  have  wasted  them  during  the  last  century  of  our  mar- 
velous material  progress.     [Applause] 


The  Presiding  Officer  (Governor  Deneen)  :  1  have  requested  a 
Gentleman  who  has  had  much  to  do  with  every  phase  of  all  these  ques- 
tions to  address  you — the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  Mr  Garfield. 


Address  by  Hon.  James  R.  Garfield 

SECRETARY    OF   THE    INTERIOR 

Mr  Chairman  and  Gentlemen: 

I  have  but  very  few  words  to  say  to  you  who  have  been  discussing  these 
questions  which  are  of  such  direct  and  intimate  interest  to  all  the  people 
of  this  country,  and  those  words  are  in  connection  with  the  use  and  devel- 
opment and  conservation  of  the  public  domain.  Primarily,  the  purpose 
of  the  disposition  of  our  public  land  has  been  to  make  homes  for  the 
People  of  this  country,  and  we  have  not  until  recently  felt  the  lack  of 

(179) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

land.  We  have  not  until  recently  felt  the  need  of  extending  by  means 
other  than  what  nature  gave  us  the  area  where  men  could  settle,  where 
homes  could  be  built.  But  as  has  been  expressed  by  numbers  of  you  Gen- 
tlemen, it  is  clear  that  the  time  has  come  when  we  must  consider  how  to 
conserve  and  preserve  that  which  has  been  left  to  us;  and  in  doing  this 
the  Nation,  as  well  as  the  State,  is  primarily  concerned.  We  act  as  a 
People  together,  not  divided.-  The  State  lines  mean  much ;  but  the  State 
lines  have  been  overlapped  by  the  work  of  the  men  and  women  of  this 
country.  Trade  itself  has  wiped  out  in  many  ways  the  State  lines.  The 
use  of  our  natural  resources  and  their  preservation  must  necessarily  wipe 
out  for  some  purposes  the  State  lines. 

That  does  not  for  one  moment  mean  that  these  great  political  sover- 
eigns, the  States,  are  losing  anything  of  their  inherent  rights.  It  does 
not  mean  that  the  Federal  Government,  in  the  exercise  of  the  powers 
given  it  under  the  Constitution,  shall  infringe  upon  the  political  or  the 
industrial  or  the  personal  rights  of  those  within  these  States;  but  it  does 
mean  that  in  the  progress  of  our  country  we  have  found  that  the  powers 
given  trie  Federal  Government  must  be  used  to  develop  those  natural 
resources  for  the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest  number  which  do  not  lie 
simply  within  one  State  but  extend  into  several  States,  and  which,  as  in 
the  case  of  water,  must  be  considered  as  for  the  use  of  all  the  States 
within  the  given  watershed  rather  than  for  the  special  States  through 
which  the  water  runs  or  in  which  the  water  rises.     [Applause] 

It  has  been  suggested  that  in  the  forest  reserves  the  plans  which 
have  been  adopted  by  the  Federal  Government  may  not  be  along  the 
right  line.  We  do  not  for  a  moment  maintain  that  the  final  word  has 
been  said,  that  the  ideal  law  has  been  passed,  or  that  the  regulations 
adopted  can  not  be  improved.  But  let  me  ask  this  question  in  answer  to 
the  question  put  by  the  Governor  of  Montana — I  believe  something  to 
this  effect :  "Why  should  the  Federal  Government  charge  for  the  general 
use  of  the  Government  those  people  who  are  using  the  forests;  why  should 
not  that  work  be  paid  for  by  the  Government  as  a  whole  rather  than 
impose  a  charge  upon  those  people  who  have  used  those  special  reserves?  " 
I  ask,  as  an  answer  to  that  question,  Why  should  a  great  resource  owned, 
as  the  Gentleman  admits,  by  the  People  at  large,  be  used  by  private  inter- 
ests, by  somebody  who  is  looking  only  to  his  own  benefit,  and  not  to  the 
benefit  of  the  People  of  the  country?  [Applause]  The  principle  applies 
not  only  in  the  forest  reserves,  so  far  as  grazing  is  concerned;  it  applies 
equally  well  to  the-  use  of  the  water  powers  of  this  country,  [applause] 
in  the  conservation  first,  and  afterward  in  the  use  of  those  water  powers. 

It  is  true  the  Federal  Government  within  its  jurisdiction,  and  the 
States  within  their  jurisdictions,  should  control  primarily  the  use  and 
the  disposition  of  those  resources;  but  when  the  Federal  Government 

(i  80) 


Address  by  Secretary  Garfield 


has  taken  action,  when  the  Federal  Government  has  improved  one  of 
these  great  waterways,  or  has  improved  the  headwaters  of  that  water- 
way, or  where  a  State  has  done  the  same — why,  then,  should  not  the 
Federal  Government  or  the  State  impose  upon  the  private  interests 
using  those  waterways  or  those  water  powers  for  their  private  benefit, 
an  imposition,  a  charge,  a  license?     [Applause] 

In  other  words,  the  question  is  simply  this:  The  People  as  a  whole 
own  these  natural  resources  as  a  whole;  they  are  not  divided.  But 
the  People  as  a  whole  own  them,  and  it  is  for  the  People  to  determine 
whether  those  resources  shall  be  used  for  the  benefit  of  all,  or  shall  be 
turned  over  to  be  used  unregulated  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  may 
perchance  first  get  a  foothold  in  any  special  locality.     [Applause] 

Now,  again,  that  does  not  mean  any  taking  away  from  the  powers  of 
the  States.  I,  as  a  Buckeye,  from  Ohio,  would  object  to  any  infringe- 
ment or  attempted  infringement  upon  the  powers  of  the  people  of  the 
State  of  Ohio.  But  I  recognize  that  in  that  State  we  have  but  little  to 
say,  so  far  as  we,  ourselves,  are  concerned,  as  to  how  the  waters  of  Lake 
Krie  and  the  waters  of  the  Ohio  river  and  the  tributaries  leading  into 
the  Ohio  river  shall  be  used  for  our  purposes  alone.  I  recognize  that  all 
those  waters  must  be  used  as  well  for  the  benefit  of  our  sister  States,  the 
States  down  the  Mississippi  watershed  to  the  Gulf,  and  down  the  St. 
Lawrence  watershed  to  the  Atlantic  ocean.     [Applause] 

We  must  recognize,  as  I  said  in  the  beginning,  that  trade  and  com- 
merce have  made  this  Nation  one  as  it  never  was  one  before.  Trade  and 
commerce  have  tied  our  people  together  in  such  fashion  that  we  can  never 
be  torn  asunder  by  any  mere  discussion  or  theorizing  on  what  the  political 
powers  and  the  political  rights  of  the  States  may  be.  [Applause]  We 
must  recognize  that  the  powers  of  the  Government  have  grown  as  we 
as  a  People  have  grown.  We  must  recognize  that  in  the  Constitution 
itself  was  the  germ  of  political  development,  as  in  this  great  country  of 
ours  was  the  germ  of  our  industrial  development;  and  that  it  is  not  the 
increases  of  power  from  without,  but  the  growth  from  within  of  the 
necessary  powers  of  Government  to  conserve  and  regulate  the  use  of 
the  resources  that  are  material  in  character. 

And  so,  Mr  President  and  Gentlemen,  in  the  discussions  of  the  subject 
I  think  we  should  approach  from  this  point  of  view.  We  should,  as  so 
many  of  you  have  suggested,  do  this  work  by  cooperation;  and  it  is  that 
which  has  brought  together  the  Governors  from  the  Commonwealths 
throughout  the  country. 

We  recognize  that  there  are  many  questions  concerning  which  there 
is  an  honest  difference  of  opinion ;  but  as  I  have  listened  to  these  addresses 
I  have  thought  that  the  keynote  of  all  is  practically  the  same.  It  is 
simply  a  question  how  we  can  best  work  out  the  problem  we  all  recognize. 

(181) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


If  we  misunderstand  one  another,  and  if  it  is  the  belief  of  the  People  of 
individual  States  that  the  Federal  Government  is  attempting  to  over- 
reach and  come  into  their  States  for  purposes  not  authorized  by  law, 
I  do  not  blame  them  for  objecting;  but  if  by  this  Conference  we  are  able 
to  wipe  away  the  misunderstanding,  if  we  can  show  that  there  is  no  such 
purpose  behind  our  movement,  and  that  we  can  agree  as  to  how  best  to 
divide  this  work,  and  where  the  line  should  be  drawn,  then  we  have 
accomplished  a  tremendous  amount  foi  the  advance  of  the  problem  in 
which  we  are  all  interested. 

The  Governors  of  Idaho  and  Wyoming  and  Montana,  who  have  spoken, 
will  receive  my  aid,  as  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  in  every  possible  way  to 
develop  under  State  laws  all  the  resources  of  their  States.  I  will  be  glad 
to  join  with  them  in  aiding,  under  the  Carey  Act,  or  any  other  law,  the 
development  of  every  acre  of  arid  land  that  their  People  will  develop. 

The  People  of  the  United  States,  through  the  Reclamation  Service, 
have  started  as  experimental  farms  several  irrigation  projects.  We  have 
shown  the  people  of  this  country  how  the  floods  may  be  trained,  how  the 
waters  may  be  stored,  and  how  they  may  be  applied  to  these  semi-arid 
and  arid  regions;  and  we  welcome  every  individual  enterprise,  every  State 
enterprise,  that  has  for  its  end  the  same  purpose  that  the  reclamation 
projects  have  for  their  end. 

[Here  the  time  bell  rang,  followed  by  cries  of  "Go  on,"  "Go  on"] 
I  do  not  want  to  take  more  than  my  share  of  the  time.     I  thank  you 
all  very  much. 

[Cries  of  "Go  on,"  "Go  on"] 

I  will  say  one  word  further :  that  in  the  development  of  these  private 
enterprises  and  in  the  development  of  the  State  enterprises,  I  believe 
it  is  the  duty  of  this  Government  to  see  that  when  its  powers  are  turned 
over  to  the  States,  those  States  shall  be  obliged  to  require  that  when 
individuals  step  in  they  shall  recognize  as  a  basis  for  any  grant  given 
them  from  the  State  through  the  Federal  Government,  that  they  must 
exercise  those  rights  for  the  benefit  of  all,  and  not  simply  for  their  own 
private  gain.     [Applause] 

And  therefore,  in  regard  to  the  Carey  Act,  it  is  my  desire  to  find  out 
how  well  the  people  who  have  taken  advantage  of  that  act  have  been 
improving  their  opportunities.  I  know  that  if  the  Governors  of  these 
States  find  with  me  that  individual  interests  have  attempted  to  misuse 
the  rights  granted  that  they  will  join  with  me  in  preventing  further  mis- 
use and  in  restoring  those  lands,  to  the  end  that  the  men  who  wish  to 
honestly  develop  them  for  home-making  may  be  given  preference  over 
tin   men  who  wish  merely  to  hold  them  for  speculative  advantage. 

That  leads  to  one  other  thought,  in  regard  to  the  conservation  of  our 
fuel  supply.      There  have  been  all  sorts  of  estimates  as  to  the  number 

(182) 


Address  by  Secretary  Garfield 


of  years  it  will  last.  We  don't  know  how  long  it  will  last;  it  is  difficult 
to  calculate.  But  in  addition  to  the  question  of  conservation— and  when 
I  say  conservation  I  mean  the  highest  possible  development  year  by  year 
to  meet  the  needs  of  the  communities  where  the  fuel  may  lie— we  must 
see  to  it  that  the  law  is  not  made  so  broad  that  it  will  be  possible  for 
individual  interests  to  monopolize  those  great  fuel  supplies.  [Applause] 
We  have  had  examples  of  that.  Therefore  in  any  law  that  is  passed,  in 
any  theory  of  disposition  that  is  adopted,  we  must  look  not  only  to  con- 
servation and  use,  but  we  must  look  to  the  prevention  of  the  monopoliza- 
tion of  those  fuels  in  the  hands  of  a  few  favored  interests. 

Mr  Ross  (of  Washington) :  I  would  like  to  ask  Mr  Garfield  if  he  would 
consent  to  answer  a  question. 

Secretary  Garfield  :  I  will  be  glad  to  do  so  if  I  can. 

Mr  Ross:  Was  it  through  the  operation  of  State  laws  or  through  the 
operation  of  National  laws  that  the  great  syndicates  and  monopolists 
acquired  the  interests  over  which  they  are  exercising  such  immense 
control? 

Secretary  Garfield:  That  is  rather  a  difficult  question  to  answer 
briefly. 

The  Presiding  Officer  (Governor  Deneen)  :  I  assume  that  a  ques- 
tion of  that  character  could  not  be  answered  in  a  moment.  It  would 
probably  take  all  the  rest  of  the  afternoon. 

Mr  Ross:  I  assume,  from  the  position  the  conferees  have  taken,  that 
the  gentleman  now  speaking  would  probably  be  given  a  limited  time  for 
the  purpose  of  answering  questions. 

Secretary  Garfield:  I  think  that  is  a  question  rather  afield  from  the 
discussion  here,  and  unless  it  be  desired  that  I  should  give  my  individual 
opinion,  I  should  prefer  not  to  do  so  because  I  think  that  it  injects  into 
this  discussion  something  that  is  quite  foreign  to  the  subject.     [Applause] 


The  Presiding  Officer:  If  that  matter  is  of  sufficient  importance  to 
occupy  the  attention  of  the  Conference,  time  for  the  question  may  be 
allotted  later;  but  it  is  manifest  that  we  have  not  time  to  go  into  that 
now. 

Governor  Sheldon  of  Nebraska  is  recognized. 

Governor  Sheldon:  Mr  President,  I  do  not  wish  at  this  time  to  offer 
any  remarks  of  my  own.  Feeling,  however,  that  the  members  of  this 
Conference  realize  that  the  soil  from  which  the  products  come  to  support 
our  life  is  the  greatest  resource  we  have,  I  would  like  to  ask  vou  to  hear 
for  a  few  minutes,  the  Director  of  the  Nebraska  Agricultural  Experiment 
Station,  Professor  Burnett. 


(183) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


Address  by  Professor  E.  A.  Burnett 

DIRECTOR    NEBRASKA    AGRICULTURAL   EXPERIMENT   STATION 

Mr  President  a>id  Gentlemen: 

I  feel  that  it  is  indeed  a  most  distinguished  honor  to  be  permitted  to 
speak  before  this  body  on  the  subject  of  the  conservation  of  our  natural 
resources. 

Coming  from  a  western  State  where  forest  conditions  do  not  largely 
prevail,  and  where  there  are  no  mines  of  coal  and  iron,  the  interest  of  our 
People  has  largely  been  turned  toward  the  development  of  the  resources 
of  our  fertile  soil.  In  the  Great  Plains  area  the  production  of  the  soil  is 
the  paramount  question. 

We  fully  agree  with  the  distinguished  gentleman,  Mr  James  J.  Hill, 
that  our  methods  are  wasteful;  and  we  have  already  begun  to  investigate, 
and  in  some  measure  to  adopt  more  improved  and  scientific  methods. 
Where  once  we  were  corn  farmers  or  wheat  farmers,  we  now  grow  crops 
in  rotation.  Where  once  we  wasted  the  manure  from  our  farms,  we  now 
applv  it  judiciously  to  the  land.  At  least  a  considerable  number  of  men 
are  doing  these  things  in  a  thoroughly  scientific  way,  and  are  setting  an 
example  for  others  to  follow. 

This  change  in  farm  practice  to  new  and  better  ways  of  doing  has  been 
influenced  to  a  marked  degree  by  the  work  of  the  United  States  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture,  of  which  our  honored  Secretary  James  Wilson  is  the 
head,  and  by  the  work  of  the  experiment  stations.  Since  the  establish- 
ment of  the  experiment  stations,  a  new  science  of  agriculture  has  developed 
and  a  vast  fund  of  scientific  information  has  been  gathered,  making  it 
possible  to  use  the  soil,  the  plant,  and  the  animal  so  as  to  secure  the 
largest  and  most  economical  production  and  the  greatest  permanent  good. 
In  Nebraska  we  have  substituted  crop  rotation  for  single-crop  methods, 
and  we  have  extended  the  growing  of  alfalfa,  legumes,  and  grass,  to 
restore  the  fertility  of  the  land.  We  have  greatly  extended  the  area  of 
winter  wheat  production,  and  are  now  driving  the  winter  wheat  region 
far  northwestward  by  experiments  to  determine  the  limit  of  profitable 
production.  We  have  introduced  a  new  and  early  variety  of  oat,  which 
ripens  before  the  summer  drought.  We  have  shown  the  farmer  how  to 
produce  double  the  average  yield  of  corn  now  produced  in  the  State. 
We  have  pushed  the  line  of  farm  operations  into  the  dry  country,  to  find 
the  limits  of  the  areas  where  farming  may  be  practiced  with  safety  and 
the  country  built  up  in  organized  communities.  I  believe  no  work  which 
the  United  States  is  doing  today  is  bringing  greater  results  than  that 
expended  in  the  Reclamation  Service  and  in  the  effort  of  the  Department 

(184) 


Address  by  Professor  Burnett 


of  Agriculture  to  determine  what  crops  and  what  methods  will  succeed 
in  the  semi-arid  regions  under  "dry-farming"  methods.  The  solution 
of  these  problems  relates  directly  to  the  management  or  disposal  of  the 
public  domain  and  the  making  habitable  of  uninhabited  areas,  and  to 
the  growth  of  prosperous  commonwealths  in  regions  now  desolate  and 
lawless. 

The  investment  of  money  by  the  Federal  Government  and  by  the 
State  Governments  for  purposes  of  agricultural  investigation  is  a  business 
proposition.  The  money  invested  last  year  is  paying  dividends  this  year, 
and  the  knowledge  acquired  by  this  investigation  becomes  a  permanent 
asset  to  the  community. 

The  great  producing  class  which  has  gathered  such  bounteous  harvests 
from  the  land  must  come  to  look  upon  the  soil  as  an  instrument  of  pro- 
duction rather  than  as  a  mine  of  wealth.  Today,  as  never  before,  we  ap- 
preciate that  the  virgin  fertility  of  the  land  must  not  only  be  retained, 
but  that  tillage  and  crop  production  should  make  land  more  productive, 
and  not  more  sterile.  Not  all  the  men  who  live  on  the  land  have  yet  come 
to  this  point  of  view.  A  few  remain  who  still  draw  on  the  bank  and  trust 
Providence  to  keep  the  deposit  good.  Their  practice  leads  to  one  inevi- 
table result:  sooner  or  later  they  will  be  driven  from  the  land,  because 
they  do  not  understand  the  laws  which  govern  its  fertility. 

After  we  have  investigated  all  the  facts  which  relate  to  the  conserva- 
tion of  the  soil,  to  the  increase  or  decrease  of  its  fertility,  we  must  agree 
that  for  the  sake  of  the  public  good  we  should  have  an  educated  man  on 
every  farm.  Agricultural  education  is  the  only  solution  for  the  develop- 
ment and  conservation  of  agricultural  resources.  It  has  doubled  the  pro- 
duction and  much  more  than  doubled  the  profit  on  individual  farms.  It 
has  at  the  same  time  not  only  conserved  but  increased  the  natural  fer- 
tility of  the  land.  It  has  taught  us  to  protect  the  timber  on  the  water- 
sheds and  to  plant  timber  on  new  lands.  It  has  turned  desert  wastes 
into  gardens  and  orchards.  It  has  inspired  the  farmer  with  new  ambi- 
tion and  a  new  motive  for  progress.  It  has  changed  the  old  social  order 
and  brought  in  a  new' and  a  better  conception  of  rural  life.  Why,  then, 
should  not  agricultural  education  be  made  universal  in  rural  communities? 

The  Federal  Government  has  done  much  to  foster  this  education  by  the 
endowment  of  Land  Grant  Colleges  and  by  direct  appropriation.  Many 
States  have  been  liberal  in  their  support  of  such  education,  and  in  those 
States  and  localities  where  such  education  has  been  most  generously 
fostered  there  is  today  not  only  greater  intelligence  and  care  for  our 
natural  resources  and  our  rural  institutions,  but  there  is  a  higher  con- 
ception of  the  obligations  of  citizenship. 

You  can  not  enforce  the  laws  which  protect  the  mine  and  forest  and 
stream  without  an  intelligent  conception  of  the  general  good  which  is  to 

(185) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

flow  from  such  administration.  You  can  not  create  the  sentiment  which 
will  enact  and  execute  wise  laws  relating  to  the  planting  and  care  of  tim- 
ber, to  the  restoration  of  our  inland  waterways,  or  to  the  maintenance  of 
land,  without  a  broad  and  liberal  education  of  the  common  people  regard- 
ing the  benefits  which  will  accrue  from  such  an  expenditure  of  public 
money. 

The  educated  farmer  is  alive  to  all  the  questions  which  affect  the  great 
problem  of  rural  progress.  In  the  cultivation  of  the  land  he  has  yoked 
labor  and  science  to  multiply  the  fruits  of  toil.  He  enters  into  the  life 
of  the  country  and  carries  the  burden  of  its  social  and  political  institu- 
tions. He  is  responsible  for  its  progress  and  for  its  perpetuity.  Educate 
the  man  who  lives  on  the  farm  and  the  evils  we  have  discussed  relating 
to  land  and  forest  and  stream  will  speedily  be  corrected.  Neglect  the 
cause  of  agricultural  education,  and  legislation  will  be  inefficient  if  not 
impossible. 

I  appeal  to  you,  Governors  and  delegates  from  all  parts  of  the  Nation, 
as  men  of  large  influence,  to  foster  in  every  possible  way  the  cause  of 
agricultural  education  in  your  States,  in  order  that  our  farming  lands 
may  be  built  up,  that  our  natural  resources  may  be  conserved,  so  that 
the  generations  of  the  future  may  not, because  of  our  improvidence,  find 
themselves  deprived  of  their  rightful  inheritance.     [Applause] 


The  Presiding  Officer  (Governor  Deneen)  :  Mr  W.  S.  Harvey  of 
Philadelphia,  who  was  called  on  yesterday  by  the  President  of  the 
National  Board  of  Trade,  is  recognized. 

Address  by  William  S.  Harvey 

AMERICAN    FORESTRY    ASSOCIATION 

Mr  President: 

I  have  been  earnestly  requested  to  say  a  few  words  in  behalf  of  the 
National  Board  of  Trade  Committee  on  Forestry  and  Irrigation,  of  which 
I  have  the  honor  of  being  Chairman;  and  also  to  say  a  word  on  behalf  of 
the  State  of  Pennsylvania.  I  regret  that  our  Governor  is  not  present 
with  us  today,  and  I  have  no  doubt  you  all  regret  that  he  is  not  here  to 
ik  for  Pennsylvania  at  this  hour.  In  his  absence,  with  your  permis- 
sion, I  will  speak  briefly  for  him. 

I  also  want  to  say  a  few  words  on  behalf  of  the  American  Forestry 
A  wjciation,  of  which  the  distinguished  president  is  now  upon  your  plat- 
form, Mi  Secretary  Wilson.  I  have  had  the  honor  of  being  associated 
with  him  for  a  number  of  years,  as  also  with  Mr  Pinchot;aiul  I  have  drawn 
my    inspiration    concerning   the   protection   and    intelligent    use   of   our 

(186) 


Address  by  William  S.  Harvey 


forests,  and  the  protection  of  our  waterways,  from  these  two  grand  men. 
[Applause] 

Before  going  further,  I  think  I  can  reply  to  the  question  that  a  gentle- 
man here  asked  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior.  In  a  report  of  the  Committee 
on  Forestry  and  Irrigation  of  the  National  Board  of  Trade,  made  to  Con- 
gress in  January ,  1 906 ,  a  copy  of  which  I  have  in  my  hand ,  we  gave  facts 
and  information  that  we  gathered  from  the  General  Land  Office  of  the 
Department  of  the  Interior.  We  were  then  earnestly  advocating  the 
repeal  of  the  Timber  and  Stone  Act,  which  authorized  the  purchase  of 
land  at  $2.50  an  acre,  and  we  gathered  the  information  from  the  General 
Land  Office  that,  from  1901  to  1906,  5,000,000  acres  of  the  most  valuable 
timber  land  that  belonged  to  the  people  of  the  United  States,  and  was 
one  of  their  greatest  assets,  had  been  sold  to  men  for  $2.50  an  acre,  or  for 
less  than  $13,000,000,  when  the  actual  value  of  it  was  more  than 
$100,000,000. 

That  is  one  of  the  laws  that  we  have  been  trying  to  get  repealed  in 
Congress.  It  has  been  impossible  for  us  to  get  it  repealed  or  so  amended 
that  such  a  thing  as  that  would  not  be  possible. 

In  behalf  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  I  wish  to  say  that  Pennsylvania 
should  have  responded  this  morning  immediately  after  the  great  Empire 
State  of  New  York,  when  Mr  Whipple,  the  Commissioner  of  that  State, 
told  us  what  they  had  done  in  having  a  million  and  a  half  acres  in  forest 
reservations  and  planting  1,100,000  trees  this  year.  The  State  of 
Pennsylvania  has  acquired  900,000  acres,  and  they  are  planting  this 
year  400,000  trees.  We  are  reforesting  with  white  pine;  and  in  fifteen 
or  twenty  years  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  will  have  a  nice  income  from 
its  forest  reserves.  Not  only  that,  but  Pennsylvania  is  setting  an 
example  that  I  sincerely  trust  the  Governor  of  every  State  will  follow 
for  the  benefit  of  suffering  humanity  wherever  forest  reserves  can  be 
created,  and  that  is  this:  Dr  Rothrock,  one  of  the  great  pioneers  in 
forest  conservation,  having  demonstrated,  as  Dr  Dudley  and  others 
present  can  testify,  that  the  forests  can  be  used  for  preserving  and 
restoring  health,  especially  of  those  who  are  afflicted  with  tuberculosis, 
the  State  of  Pennsylvania  this  last  year  appropriated  $600,000  for 
establishing  sanitariums  on  the  forest  reserves  to  build  up  and  restore 
the  health  and  usefulness  of  thousands  of  people  who  are  suffering  from 
tubercular  and  other  disorders.  So  much  for  dear  old  Pennsvlvania. 
[Applause] 

Now,  on  behalf  of  the  National  Board  of  Trade,  I  wish  to  read  to  you 
a  copy  of  a  dispatch  I  sent  on  May  5  to  Speaker  Cannon — a  "cannon" 
that  many  of  us  wish  could  be  spiked — in  regard  to  the  forestry  question : 

Forest  reserves  of  the  South  and  East  are  vital  for  the  preservation  and  perpetua- 
tion of  our  waterways,  for  transportation  and  production  of  cheap  power,  and  essen- 
tial to  the  extension  of  foreign  trade  if  we  are  to  maintain  the  American  wage-level 


(187) 
56254—09 15 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

in  competition  with  other  manufacturing  nations.  The  Lever  Bill,  I  believe,  is 
consistent  with  the  Constitutional  requirements  of  the  Judiciary  Committee  of  the 
House,  and  satisfactory  to  the  friends  of  waterways  and  forestry.  Will  you  not 
exert  your  influence  and  power  at  this  psychologic  time  that  should  be  irresistible 
for  such  a  wise  and  perpetually  beneficent  cause  that  is  earnestly  advocated  by  more 
than  fifty  million  Americans  whose  patriotic  gratitude  success  will  command. 

That  is  the  text  of  a  subject  that  might  be  talked  over  for  an  hour. 
I  regret  that  Mr  Gompers  left  the  room.  I  was  anxious  for  him  to  hear 
what  I  have  to  say-  If  we  want  to  prolong  American  prosperity  and 
maintain  the  high  level  of  American  wages,  our  wage  being  just  double 
that  of  other  nations  of  the  world,  we  must  protect  our  facilities  and 
enlarge  our  ability  to  produce  and  manufacture  the  things  that  we 
manufacture  at  the  lowest  cost. 

The  development  of  water  power  in  the  Southern  States  alone  is  equal 
to  the  development  of  more  than  3,000,000  horsepower,  and  there  would 
be  a  saving  in  the  cost  of  power  for  manufacturing  purposes  of  not  less 
than  $15  per  horsepower,  or  an  average  saving  to  the  people  in  the 
Appalachian  region  alone  of  $45,000,000  each  year.  That  means  that 
we  would  have  that  advantage  over  those  in  other  countries  with  whom 
we  have  to  compete  in  marketing  our  goods.  If  we  had  no  advantage 
in  the  marketing  of  our  goods,  either  in  excellence  or  quantity  or  in 
cheapness  of  production,  it  simply  would  mean  that  American  labor 
would  be  reduced  to  the  labor  of  all  other  nations  of  the  world.  If  we 
want  to  maintain  its  high  level  we  must  protect  the  facilities  that  will 
enable  us  to  produce  our  goods  at  the  lowest  possible  cost. 

Do  you  wonder,  therefore,  that  I  most  earnestly  advocate  that  we 
shall  at  this  time  so  petition  Congress  that  they  will  feel  obliged  to  listen 
to  the  voice  of  the  American  People  on  behalf  of  the  preservation  and 
the  conservation  and  the  utilization  of  those  great  resources  that  will 
enable  us  to  protect  American  labor?  We  want  to  protect  American 
labor.  Our  opportunity  will  be  gone  if  it  is  not  immediately  seized. 
[Applause] 

The  Presiding  Officer  (Governor  Deneen)  :  Governor  Burke  has 
been  called  for,  and  is  recognized 

Address  by  John  Burke 
governor  of  north  dakota 

Mr  I'r<  sident  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Conference: 

Great  fear  has  been  expressed  that  in  the  conservation  of  our  natural 
resources  the  Nation  might  encroach  on  the  rights  of  tin  Slates,  and  yet 
there  are  some  delegates  who  want  to  give  to  the  States  the  control  of 

h88) 


Address  by  Governor  Burke 


the  National  Forests.  In  my  judgment  there  is  no  necessity  for  any 
conflict  between  the  State  and  the  Nation,  and  there  will  be  no  conflict 
if  we  are  careful  to  recognize  the  rights  of  each,  and  insist  that  each 
shall  conserve  and  control  the  natural  resources  peculiarly  its  own. 

No  one  asks  of  the  Federal  Government  anything  that  it  has  not  a 
Constitutional  right  to  give.  The  Government  can  improve  its  own 
property.  It  can  set  aside  as  national  forest  reserves  timber  growing 
upon  Government  land.  If  it  does  so,  such  forest  reserves  should  be 
controlled  and  regulated  by  the  Federal  Government.  So  long  as  they 
are,  there  is  no  chance  for  a  conflict  between  the  State  and  Nation. 
Should  Congress  give  the  State  authority  to  regulate  and  control  national 
forests,  then  there  would  at  once  arise  many  opportunities  for  conflict. 
The  State  would  not  undertake  to  reforest  the  portions  from  which 
timber  had  been  cut,  and  would  in  many  instances  use  the  same  only  for 
the  benefit  of  those  living  in  the  present,  and  the  object  for  which  the 
forest  is  set  aside  would  wholly  fail.  The  Federal  Government  should 
retain  absolute  control  over  such  territory,  so  as  to  prevent  such  con- 
flict, to  insure  the  reforesting  of  the  portions  from  which  timber  has  been 
cut,  and  to  conserve  the  whole  in  the  interests  of  those  who  are  to  come 
after  us  as  well  as  those  who  are  now  enjoying  its  benefits. 

The  same  is  true  of  the  mines  and  other  natural  resources  on  Govern- 
ment land.  The  interstate  commerce  clause  in  the  Constitution  gives 
to  Congress  absolute  control  of  all  interstate  commerce  on  navigable 
waters  of  the  United  States,  and  while  the  title  to  the  adjacent  land  and 
to  the  land  beneath  the  water  vests  in  the  riparian  owners,  the  water  is 
for  the  use  of  the  People,  and  is  under  and  subject  to  the  exclusive 
control  of  Congress.     [Applause] 

The  laws  of  our  land  require  us  as  individuals  to  use  our  property,  or 
property  in  our  possession,  in  such  a  way  as  not  to  interfere  with  the 
property  of  others;  and  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  having  exclu- 
sive control  over  our  navigable  rivers,  should,  in  the  name  of  commerce, 
control  them  in  such  a  way  as  not  to  injure  the  property  of  the  People. 

Every  cent  of  money  invested  in  our  natural  resources  is  adding  so 
much  to  the  national  wealth.  It  will  be  used  in  purchasing  American 
material;  it  will  be  paid  out  to  American  laborers;  it  will  go  into  circu- 
lation in  American  cities;  and  prosperity  will  follow  in  its  wake,  and 
leave  us  richer  in  national  wealth.     [Applause] 


The  Presiding  Officer  (Governor  Deneen)  :  Mr  Jones  of  Texas 
will  speak  for  a  moment  for  the  Governor  of  Texas,  who  is  unavoidably 
absent. 


(189) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


Address  by  W.  Goodrich  Jones 

Mr  President  and  Gentlemen: 

In  the  unavoidable  absence  of  our  Governor,  who  regrets  very  much 
that  he  is  unable  to  attend  this  Conference,  and  as  one  of  his  advisors,  I 
beg  to  bring  you  from  Texas  a  message  of  cordial  greeting  and  esteem, 
and  of  hearty  cooperation  in  this  great  work. 

Texas  is  a  great  State  and  has  a  bright  future,  but  we  recognize  that 
her  future  welfare  can  be  advanced  and  maintained  only  with  your 
cooperation  and  assistance. 

Even  as  Atlas  of  old  upheld  the  world,  so  does  Texas,  at  the  base  of 
this  great  Nation,  uphold  on  her  mighty  shoulders  the  greatest  aggrega- 
tion of  free  and  enlightened  citizens  the  world  has  ever  beheld.  With 
one  arm  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  one  arm  encircling  the  Rockies,  she 
feels  her  responsibility  not  only  to  uphold,  but  to  clothe  and  feed  the 
entire  population  of  this  great  Union,  if  occasion  demand.  [Applause] 
She  has  the  territory,  the  soil,  and  the  climate;  but  what  she  needs  is 
water — water  falling  as  rain,  water  flowing  in  from  the  rivers  through 
irrigating  ditches.  Our  rainfall  and  our  river-flow  we  believe  is  con- 
nected with  the  forests.  We  want  our  forests,  and  your  forests,  whether 
owned  by  corporations  or  by  the  Government,  reserved  for  our  children's 
children  by  scientific  cutting,  forest  extension,  and  reforesting.  We 
want  to  see  checked  the  present  method  of  wholesale  cutting,  waste,  and 
fire-swept  sterility.  We  want  our  farming  lands  saved  from  erosion, 
our  rivers  deepened  and  made  navigable  and  saved  from  the  destructive 
floods  rolling  down  from  the  hillsides.  We  want  our  harbors  deepened 
so  as  to  admit  the  largest  vessels,  and  we  wish  kept  back  so  far  as  possible 
on  the  rich  uplands  the  millions  of  tons  of  rich  soil  that  are  now  swept 
down  yearly  through  the  rivers  into  our  harbors,  and  that  block  entrance 
to  our  ports. 

We  promise  to  join  with  you  most  heartily  and  earnestly  in  whatever 
future  work  this  Conference  may  outline.  We  are  in  sympathy  with 
you  in  your  Appalachain- White  Mountain  Forest  Reserve,  the  great 
contemplated  waterway  from  Lake  Michigan  to  the  Gulf,  the  drainage 
of  tin  Everglades  of  Florida,  and  the  conserving  of  the  river  sources  in 
the  great  western  forest   reserves. 

Tea  ims  a  citizenship  of  the  brightest,  bravest,  and  truest  nun. 

drawn  thither  from  North,  East,  and  West.  Our  soil,  our  climate,  our 
natural  resources,  and  our  productiveness  are  unparalleled  in  any  country 
today  of  equal  territory  and  under  one  flag.     In  no  other  section  of  the 

world  will  you  find  such  crops  of  cotton,  corn,  oats,  wheat,  rice,  sugar, 

90) 


Address  by  W.  Goodrich  Jones 


tobacco,  semi-tropical  and  tropical  fruits  and  vegetables,  fish  and  oysters 
sheep,  swine,  cattle,  lumber,  oil,  coal,  and  all  mineral  wealth. 

These  little  flowers,  the  "Cape  Jessamine"  grown  at  Alvin  near  the 
Gulf,  and  presented  to  this  Conference  with  the  compliments  of  our 
State,  carry  in  their  white  and  fragrant  petals  the  token  of  our  esteem 

In  the  hour  of  necessity,  when  Galveston  lay  wrecked  and  bleedin- 
from  a  great  hurricane  and  tidal  wave,  Gentlemen,  from  your  every  State 
came  substantial  tokens  of  brotherly  love  and  assistance.  We  of  Texas 
have  never  forgotten  the  hands  extended  to  us  in  our  hour  of  dire  distress- 
and  we  stand  ready  to  cooperate  with  you  in  any  movement  for  the  good 
of  the  Nation.     [Applause] 


On  motion  of  Governor  Noel,  at  5:25  p.  m.,  the  Conference  rose. 


(19O 


Fifth  Session 

The  Fifth  Session  of  the  Conference  was  called  to  order  at  10  oclock 
a.  m.  on  May  15,  1908,  in  the  East  Room  of  the  White  House,  by  the 
President  of  the  United  States. 

Governor  Blanchard:  On  behalf  of  the  Committee  on  Resolutions  I 
have  a  report  to  make,  and  with  your  permission,  Mr  President,  I  will 
make  it  from  the  platform. 

The  President:  Kindly  step  to  the  platform,  Governor. 

Governor  Blanchard:  Mr.  President,  inasmuch  as  I  am  the  organ  of 
a  Committee  of  this  Conference  I  trust  the  bell — the  bell  calling  time  on 
speakers — invisible  to  the  sense  of  sight,  but  manifesting  itself  always 
to  the  sense  of  hearing,  will  be  held  in  reserve  while  I  present  the  report 
of  the  Committee,  and  while  I  am  giving  the  reasons  of  the  Committee 
for  their  action. 

The  President:  If  not  held  in  reserve  you  may  disregard  it. 

Governor  Blanchard:  Mr  President,  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Con- 
ference, on  behalf  of  your  Committee  on  Resolutions  I  beg  to  present 
the  following  declaration  of  views  and  recommendations : 

DECLARATION 

We,  the  Governors  of  the  States  and  Territories  of  tlie  United  States  of 
America,  in  Conference  assembled,  do  hereby  declare  the  conviction  that  the 
great  prosperity  of  our  country  rests  upon  the  abundant  resources  of  the  land 
chosen  by  our  forefathers  for  their  homes  and  where  they  laid  the  foundation 
of  this  great  Nation. 

We  look  upon  these  resources  as  a  heritage  to  be  made  use  of  in  establishing 
and  promoting  the  comfort,  prosperity,  and  happiness  of  the  American 
People,  but  not  to  be  wasted,  deteriorated,  or  needlessly  destroyed. 

We  agree  that  our  country's  future  is  involved  in  this;  that  the  great 
natural  resources  supply  the  material  basis  on  which  our  civilization  must 
continue  to  depend,  and  on  which  the  perpetuity  of  the  Nation  itself  rests. 

We  agree,  in  the  light  of  facts  brought  to  our  knowledge  and  from  infor- 
tunium received  from  sources  which  we  can  not  doubt,  that  this  material 
tlm  ittened  with  exhaustion.  Even  as  each  succeeding  generation 
from  tli<'  birth  of  the  Nation  has  performed  its  part  in  promoting  tin  progress 
and  development  0/  tin-  Republic,  so  do  we  in  this  generation  recognize  it  as 

(192) 


Declaration  of  the  Governors 


a  high  duty  to  perform  our  part;  and  this  duty  in  large  degree  lies  in  the 
adoption  of  measures  for  the  conservation  of  the  natural  wealth  of  the  country. 
[Applause] 

We  declare  our  firm  conviction  that  this  conservation  of  our  natural 
resources  is  a  subject  of  transcendent  importance,  which  should  engage 
unremittingly  the  attention  of  the  Nation,  the  States,  and  the  People  in 
earnest  cooperation.  These  natural  resources  include  the  land  on  which  we 
live  and  which  yields  our  food;  the  living  waters  which  fertilize  the  soil, 
supply  power,  and  form  great  avenues  of  commerce;  the  forests  which  yield 
the  materials  for  our  homes,  prevent  erosion  of  the  soil,  and  conserve  the 
navigation  and  other  uses  of  our  streams;  and  the  minerals  which  form  the 
basis  of  our  industrial  life,  and  supply  us  with  heat,  light,  and  power. 

We  agree  that  the  land  should  be  so  used  that  erosion  and  soil-wash  shall 
cease;  that  there  should  be  reclamation  of  arid  and  semi-arid  regions  by 
means  of  irrigation,  and  of  swamp  and  overflowed  regions  by  means  of 
drainage;  that  the  waters  should  be  so  conserved  and  used  as  to  promote 
navigation,  to  enable  the  arid  regions  to  be  reclaimed  by  irrigation,  and  to 
develop  power  in  the  interests  of  the  People;  that  the  forests  which  regulate 
our  rivers,  support  our  industries,  and  promote  the  fertility  and  productive- 
ness of  the  soil  shoidd  be  preserved  and  perpetuated;  that  the  minerals 
found  so  abundantly  beneath  the  surface  shoidd  be  so  used  as  to  prolong  their 
utility;  that  the  beauty,  health f idness ,  and  habitability  of  our  country  should 
be  preserved  and  increased;  that  the  sources  of  national  wealth  exist  for  the 
benefit  of  the  People,  and  that  monopoly  thereof  shoidd  not  be  tolerated. 
[Applause] 

We  commend  the  wise  forethought  of  the  President  in  sounding  the  note 
of  warning  as  to  the  waste  and  exhaustion  of  the  natural  resources  of  tlie 
country,  and  signify  our  high  appreciation  of  his  action  in  calling  this  Con- 
ference to  consider  the  same  and  to  seek  remedies  therefor  through  cooperation 
of  the  Nation  and  the  States.     [Applause] 

We  agree  that  this  cooperation  should  find  expression  in  suitable  action 
by  the  Congress  within  the  limits  of  and  coextensive  with  the  national  juris- 
diction of  the  subject,  and,  complementary  thereto,  by  the  legislatures  of  the 
several  States  within  the  limits  of  and  coextensive  with  their  jurisdiction. 

We  declare  the  conviction  that  in  the  use  of  the  natural  resources  our 
independent  States  are  interdependent  and  bound  together  by  ties  of  mutual 
benefits,  responsibilities  and  duties.     [Applause] 

We  agree  in  the  wisdom  of  future  conferences  between  the  President, 
Members  of  Congress,  and  the  Governors  of  States  on  the  conservation  of 
our  natural  resources  with  a  view  of  continued  cooperation  and  action  on 
the  lines  suggested;  and  to  this  end  we  advise  that  from  time  to  time,  as  in 
his  judgment  may  seem  wise,  the  President  call  the  Governors  of  the  States 
and  Members  of  Congress  and  others  into  conference. 

(193) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


We  agree  that  further  action  is  advisable  to  ascertain  the  present  condition 
of  our  natural  resources  and  to  promote  the  conservation  of  the  same;  and 
to  that  end  we  recommend  the  appointment  by  each  State  of  a  Commission 
on  the  Conservation  of  Natural  Resources,  to  cooperate  with  each  other  and 
with  any  similar  commission  of  the  Federal  Government.     [Great  applause] 

We  urge  the  continuation  and  extension  of  forest  policies  adapted  to  secure 
the  husbanding  and  renewal  of  our  diminishing  timber  supply,  the  preven- 
tion of  soil  erosion,  the  protection  of  headwaters,  and  the  maintenance  of 
the  purity  and  navigability  of  our  streams.  We  recognize  that  the  private 
ownership  of  forest  lands  entails  responsibilities  in  the  interests  of  all  the 
People,  and  we  favor  the  enactment  of  laws  looking  to  the  protection  and 
replacement  of  privately  owned  forests.     [Applause] 

We  recognize  in  our  waters  a  most  valuable  asset  of  the  People  of  the 
United  States,  and  we  recommend  the  enactment  of  laws  looking  to  the  con- 
servation of  water  resources  for  irrigation,  water  supply,  power,  and  navi- 
gation, to  the  end  that  navigable  and  source  streams  may  be  brought  under 
complete  control  and  fully  utilized  for  every  purpose.  We  especially  urge 
on  the  Federal  Congress  the  immediate  adoption  of  a  wise,  active,  and 
thorough  waterway  policy,  providing  for  the  prompt  improvement  of  our 
streams  and  the  conservation  of  their  watersheds  required  for  the  uses  of 
commerce  and  the  protection  of  the  interests  of  our  People.     [Applause] 

We  recommend  the  enactment  of  laws  looking  to  the  prevention  of  waste  in 
the  mining  and  extraction  of  coal,  oil,  gas,  and  other  minerals  with  a  view 
to  their  wise  conservation  for  the  use  of  the  People,  and  to  the  protection  of 
human  life  in  the  mines.     [Applause] 

Let  us  conserve  the  foundations  of  our  prosperity.     [Great  applause] 

Respectfully  submitted, 

Newton  C.  Blanch ard,  Louisiana,  Chairman 

John  F.  Fort,  New  Jersey 

J.  O.  Davidson,  Wisconsin 

John  C.  Cutler,  Utah 

M.  F.  Ansel,  South  Carolina 

Attest: 

W  J  McGEE,  Secretary  Inland  Waterways  Commission, 

Recording  Secretary  of  the  Conference 


Statemknt  by  Governor  Blanch ard 

Mr  President,  it  has  been  observed,  doubtless,  that  the  paper  sub- 
mitted by  the  Committee  on  Resolutions,  as  the  result  of  its  labors,  is 
general  in  eharacter,  as  broad,  liberal,  and  catholic  as  it  was  possible  to 
make  it,  and  of  a  scope  purely  national. 

(194) 


Statement  by  Governor  Blanchard 


It  has  been  noted,  I  trust,  that  the  Committee  has  not  embodied  in  its 
report  a  discussion  or  recommendation  of  any  specific  project  of  tl it- 
many  pressed  upon  its  notice.  Under  the  order  of  the  Conference  that 
any  member  thereof  might  hand  in  to  the  Committee  any  resolution 
which  he  might  desire  considered,  a  number  of  resolutions  were  sub- 
mitted covering  specific  projects,  all  bearing,  more  or  less,  upon  the 
great  subject  which  we  were  called  together  to  consider. 

But  the  Committee,  in  preparing  its  report,  has  kept  constantly  before 
it  the  one  great  idea  that  the  President  in  calling  the  Conference  had 
but  one  purpose— to  take  thought  for  the  conservation  of  the  natural 
resources  of  our  country.  [Applause]  It  has  sought  to  limit  the  decla- 
rations propounded  to  this  idea,  this  one  purpose. 

The  Committee  recognizes,  as  every  one  must,  that  the  natural  resources 
of  the  country  may  be  grouped  under  four  great  heads— land,  waters, 
forests,  and  minerals— and  to  these  alone,  in  their  broadest  sense,  looking 
to  their  conservation,  prolongation,  and  perpetuation,  it  confined  itself. 

We  were  impressed  with  the  wisdom  of  the  call  for  this  Conference. 
We  believe  that  all  must  recognize  that  it  is  a  good  thing  for  the  Gover- 
nors of  the  States  to  meet,  from  time  to  time,  with  the  President  of  the 
United  States  and  such  others  as  he  should  see  fit  to  include  in  the 
invitation,  to  consider  great  questions  affecting  our  country — its  welfare, 
its  life  maybe,  its  progress,  prosperity,  happiness— upon  which  questions 
the  cooperative  action  of  the  Nation,  the  States,  and  the  People  is 
advisable  and  desired. 

The  present  Conference,  on  the  great  subject  it  met  to  consider,  is  be- 
lieved to  be  one  of  the  most  important  ever  held  in  our  country.    [Applause.] 
The  Committee  believed  that  the  precedent  set  should  be  followed, 
and  the  Declaration  submitted  invites  the  President — the  present  one  or 
any  future  President — to  do  so.     [Applause] 

Personally,  I  have  long  thought  that,  if  the  Governors  of  the  States 
could  themselves  from  time  to  time  get  together,  exchanging  ideas  and 
views  touching  the  governmental  and  other  affairs  of  their  States,  much 
good  would  come  out  of  it.  Such  meetings  could  be  had  by  the  Gover- 
nors of  their  own  motion,  and  some  kind  of  an  organization,  looking  to 
this,  it  might  be  well  to  initiate  before  the  Governors  who  are  in  Wash- 
ington now  leave  the  Capital. 

But  the  Committee  on  Resolutions  has  thought  it  wise  to  omit  any 
mention  of  meetings  to  be  originated  and  held  by  the  Governors  them- 
selves, and  this  omission  is  based  on  the  conviction  that  when  a  Con- 
ference on  National  matters  is  desirable  it  is  the  President  of  the  United 
States  who  should  take  the  initiative,  and  from  him  the  invitations  to 
the  Conference  should  emanate.     [Applause] 

The  report  of  the  Committee  takes  care  to  emphasize  the  distinct 
jurisdiction  of  the  States,  pointing  out  that  the  States,  in  dealing  with 

(i95) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

the  great  question  of  the  conservation  of  the  natural  wealth  of  the 
Republic,  are  doing  so  along  lines  of  proper  State  jurisdiction  of  the 
subject,  in  cooperation  with  the  Federal  Government  acting  within  the 
limits  of  the  National  jurisdiction  thereof. 

There  can  be  no  doubt,  Gentlemen  of  the  Conference,  and  all  must 
admit  it,  that  in  order  to  the  proper  conservation  and  protection  of  the 
natural  resources  of  the  country  there  is  exercise  alike  for  the  broad 
jurisdiction  of  the  Nation  and  the  less  broad,  though  independent,  juris- 
diction of  the  States. 

What  is  wanted  is  harmony  and  concert  of  action  by  all — the  Nation, 
the  State,  the  People — to  the  common  end  of  the  preservation  of  those 
things  so  essential  to  the  welfare  of  all.     [Applause] 

In  that  spirit,  and  in  that  alone,  your  Committee  has  prepared  the 
Declaration  with  its  recommendations  as  submitted.     [Applause] 

On  behalf  of  the  Committee,  Mr  President,  I  move  the  adoption  of  the 
report.     [Applause] 

The  motion  was  seconded  by  several  voices. 

The  President:  It  is  moved  and  seconded  that  the  Declaration  sub- 
mitted be  adopted.     The  motion  should  have  careful  consideration. 

Governor  GeEnn:  Mr  President,  this  is  a  very  important  paper,  and 
some  of  us  would  like  very  much  to  think  over  some  of  the  provisions 
in  it,  some  of  the  suggestions.  I  would  like  it  if  that  motion  might  not 
be  acted  on  until  the  evening  session,  so  that  we  might  have  an  oppor- 
tunity to  think  a  little  more  about  it.  Not  with  the  view  of  criticism 
but  merely  in  the  way  of  suggestion,  I  desire  to  call  attention  to  that 
part  of  the  report  of  the  Committee  in  regard  to  the  President  calling 
together  the  Governors  of  the  different  States  to  consider  National 
matters.  If  we  would  always  have  a  President  of  such  broad  mind  and 
comprehensive  view  as  yourself,  there  would  be  no  objection  to  that. 
But,  Sir,  while  we  are  Governors  of  States,  all  of  us  love  this  Nation  as 
much  as  the  President,  and  there  might  come  a  time  when  the  President 
might  not  be  disposed  to  act,  and  when  the  majority  of  the  Governors 
of  the  various  States  might  think  they  ought  to  be  gotten  together. 

Do  you  not  think  that  on  the  application  of  a  third  or  half  of  the  Gov- 
ernors of  the  States  the  President  might  be  required,  under  this  report, 
to  call  us  together?  I  throw  these  remarks  out,  so  that  we  can  think 
i  the  matter  with  cool  judgment  and  be  prepared,  when  we  come 
here  this  afternoon,  to  act  on  the  report. 

I  am  not  prepared  to  say  to  you  that  I  object  to  the  report  in  its  pres- 
ent form,  bin  I  simply  throw  out  the  thought  of  what  might  occur  if 
this  discretion  wire  pul  into  the  hands  of  a  President  who  might  not 
be  ;i  broad  minded  man. 

I  can  not  speak  for  the  rest  of  the  Governors,  but  I  can  only  say  that 
for  myself  I  wish  this  great  meeting  had  occurred  at  the  beginning  of 

,6) 


Discussion  of  the  Declaration 


my  administration  and  not  at  its  close.  It  has  been  a  benediction  to 
me  and  made  me  love  my  Nation  ten  times  as  much,  if  that  were  pos- 
sible.    [Applause]  "  H 

The  President:  As  a  mere  suggestion,  simply  that  the  Conference 
may  have  something  before  it,  Governor  Glenn,  suppose  you  submit  an 
amendment,  something  in  the  nature  of  saying  that  the  President  shall 
call  the  Governors  together  in  his  discretion,  and  whenever  requested 
to  do  so  by  one-third  of  the  Governors. 

Governor  Glenn:  I  make  that  as  a  motion,  as  an  amendment  to  the 
resolution  or  motion  before  the  Conference. 

Governor  Beanchard:  Mr  President,  I*  like  my  friend  from  North 
Carolina,  am  winding  up  my  term  as  Governor  of  Louisiana      With  us 
in  Louisiana  it  is  a  term  of  four  years  and  out- 
Governor  Glenn  :  That  is  my  fix. 

Governor  Beanchard:  There  being  a  constitutional  inhibition  against 
a  second  consecutive  term.  [Laughter]  So  that  I  am  not  likely  to  be 
much  in  evidence  in  succeeding  Conferences  of  Governors 

But  the  Governor  never  dies,  Mr  President.  My  friend  from  North 
Caro hna  and  myself  step  out,  but  other  men,  equally  competent  and 
equally  patriotic,  step  in.  It  is  with  us  like  it  was  in  one-time  monarch- 
al France;  "Le  Roi  est  mort;  vive  le  Roi."  And  whether  I  am  to  be 
a  member  or  not,  I  want  to  see  an  occasional  Conference  held  between 
the  President  of  the  United  States  and  the  Governors. 

An  objection  to  the  amendment  proposed  by  the  Governor  of  North 
Carolina,  which  occurs  to  me,  is  this:  He  suggests  that  the  Governors  be 
called  in  Conference  with  the  President  whenever  one-third  of  the  Gov- 
ernors request  it.  But  suppose  the  President  does  not  want  to  meet 
the  Governors  in  Conference?  [Laughter]  Suppose  the  President 
should  be  of  the  view  that,  just  then,  there  was  no  occasion  for  a  Con- 
ference.    Are  you  going  to  force  one  upon  him? 

If  the  amendment  submitted  by  the  Governor  of  North  Carolina  be 
adopted,  one-third  of  the  Governors  might  get  together  and  "resolve  " 
as  did  the  tailors  in  Tooley  Street  in  London  some  centuries  ago  But 
what  if  the  President  responded  that  he  saw  no  occasion  for  a  Conference 
between  himself  and  the  Governors;  that  there  was  no  great  national 
question  to  consider?  [Laughter]  I  would  suggest  that  my  friend 
from  North  Carolina  leave  the  matter  as  the  Committee  has  written  it 
This  very  question  was  fully  discussed  and  considered  by  your  Com- 
mittee.    [Applause] 

Governor  Glenn:  Mr  President,  if  you  noticed,  in  the  beginning  of 
my  remarks,  I  simply  asked  that  this  matter  go  over  so  that  we  might 
have  an  opportunity  to  think  of  these  things,  as  the  Committee  has  had 
ample  opportunity  to  think  of  them.  It  comes  to  us,  you  see,  at  first 
blush,  as  a  new  proposition. 


(197) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

Now,  Mr  President,  no  man  has  any  higher  admiration  and  respect 
for  the  President  of  the  United  States  than  I  have;  and  while  some- 
times his  policy  and  my  policy  do  not  agree,  he  is  my  President,  as  well 
as  the  President  of  the  Republican  Party.  [Applause]  And,  Sir,  I 
have  always  been  ready,  and  still  am  ready,  as  you  know,  Mr  President, 
to  uphold  your  hand  in  every  laudable  effort  and  aspiration  for  the 
benefit  of  the  United  States  of  America.  But  suppose  a  third  of  the 
Governors  of  this  great  Nation,  acting  in  concert  with  the  other  Gov- 
ernors of  this  Nation,  thought  it  necessary  for  the  best  good  of  this  great 
country  of  ours  to  have  a  meeting,  and  should  petition  the  President  of  the 
United  States  to  call  that  meeting;  and  that  he,  forsooth,  should  refuse 
to  do  so,  for  some  arbitrary  or  some  small  motive.  Then,  Sir,  the  Gov. 
ernors  would  feel,  having  done  him  the  honor  of  requesting  a  conference, 
that  they  could  request  Governors  to  meet,  independent  of  the  President, 
for  the  purpose  of  taking  joint  action.  I  do  think  there  ought  to  be 
some  way  by  which  we  could  be  brought  together  for  the  purpose  of 
consulting,  not  only  for  the  benefit  of  single  States,  but  for  the  common 
good  of  this  great  Nation;  some  means  by  which  we  can  get  together, 
whether  the  President  of  the  United  States  should  say  "  yes"  or  "  no." 

Governor  Noel:  I  think  a  solution,  and  an  easy  one,  can  be  reached. 
This  was  a  Committee  first  appointed  under  the  suggestion  not  only  of 
the  Governors  but  of  all  attending  this  Conference.  It  is  true  it  was 
composed  of  Governors,  but  this  whole  Declaration  of  principles  and 
action  is  national  in  its  scope.  After  our  Session  yesterday  afternoon 
there  was  a  meeting  called  of  Governors,  and  a  committee  of  three 
appointed,  with  a  view  of  action  on  their  part  when  they  wanted  to 
meet.  They  have  authority  to  meet  with  the  insurance  commissioners, 
agricultural  commissioners,  and  others,  which  needs  no  authority  from 
the  President  for  them  to  come  together.  They  have  held  a  separate 
meeting,  and  have  appointed  a  committee,  and  that  committee  can 
suggest  some  method  for  the  Governors  to  meet  at  their  own  volition, 
and  suggest  such  places  and  times  as  they  want.  It  would  not  conflict 
with  this  Declaration,  and  this  Declaration  need  not,  therefore,  be 
marred  by  any  amendment  or  action  of  any  sort.  I  favor  both.  I 
favor  the  Declaration  of  principles  and  action  as  submitted  in  full.  I 
do  not  want  to  meet  with  anybody  that  does  not  want  to  meet  with  me. 
[Laughter]  If  the  President  does  not  want  to  meet  with  us  he  need 
not  call  us,  and  if  we  call  he  need  not  come.  This  same  is  true  as  to  all 
the  others.  It  is  purely  voluntary,  and  we  do  not  want  him  to  call  us 
unless  he  wants  to  do  so  himself;  and  if  we  want  to  meet  without  him 
we  can  meet.  The  Governors  have  that  power  and  privilege;  they  have 
their  committee,  and  it  can  be  so  arranged.  Therefore  I  do  not  sic-  the 
t  occasion  to  make  an  amendment  to  anything  in  this  Declaration 

(198) 


Discussion  of  the  Declaration 


of  principles,  and  I  favor  the  adoption  just  as  submitted;  and  I  also 
favor  the  adoption  of  a  resolution  or  declaration  along  the  line  sug- 
gested by  Governor  Glenn  when  it  is  offered  by  the  Committee,  of  which 
I  believe  he  is  a  member,  and  also  Governor  Folk. 

Governor  Davidson:  Mr  President,  your  Committee  took  exactly  that 
view  of  the  situation  which  has  just  been  stated  by  Governor  Noel.  We 
wanted  to  leave  the  proposition  free  for  the  President  to  call  a  Conference 
whenever  he  thought  it  necessary.  There  is  nothing  in  that  Declaration 
that  prevents  the  Governors  from  calling  a  Conference  of  their  own  if  they 
so  desire.  We  wanted  to  leave  the  President's  hands  free  to  call  a  Con- 
ference  whenever  he  thought  it  was  necessary  to  have  the  Governors  of 
the  different  States  meet  with  him,  he  consulting  with  them  and  they 
consulting  with  him  on  any  and  all  questions;  and  we  also  wanted  to 
leave  it  absolutely  free  for  the  Governors  themselves,  if  they  saw  fit,  to 
correspond  with  each  other  and  have  a  Conference  of  their  own  any  time 
they  desire. 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  Declaration  as  presented  in  regard  to  that 
question  is  absolutely  free,  and  I  think  it  ought  to  be  adopted  without 
amendment.     [Applause] 

Governor  Folk:  Mr  President,  Discussions  like  this  are  more  or  less 
embarrassing.  There  is  no  one  here  who  has  a  higher  regard  for  the 
President  than  I  have.  There  is  no  one  here  who  feels  under  a  deeper 
sense  of  personal  obligation  to  the  present  occupant  of  the  Presidential 
chair  than  I  do;  but  by  this  Declaration  offered  by  the  Committee  we 
are  conferring,  not  upon  the  individual  who  happens  to  occupy  the  Chair 
now,  but  upon  that  Office,  a  power  and  authority  to  call  the  Governors 
of  the  States  together  at  any  time  that  he  may  see  fit.  The  distinguished 
personage  before  us  can  not  always  be  President  of  the  United  States 
[laughter];  and  suppose  that  some  time  in  the  future  there  should  be  a 
man  in  that  Office  who  would  want  to  use  such  power  or  prestige  as 
might  be  obtained  from  a  gathering  of  the  Governors  to  coerce  Congress, 
for  instance,  into  adopting  some  law.  [Laughter  and  applause]  Now, 
while  we  all  think  that  the  Big  Stick  once  in  a  while  is  a  mightv  good 
thing,  [great  applause]  I  do  not  know  what  man  hereafter  may  have  that 
instrument  in  his  hand.  [Laughter]  So  I  for  one  am  unwilling  to  com- 
mit, not  myself  but  the  man  who  may  follow  me  as  Governor  of  Missouri, 
to  what  may  possibly  be  used  merely  as  an  instrument  to  accom- 
plish something  with  another  branch  of  the  Government.  Now,  prece- 
dents are  dangerous  things.  At  the  moment  they  may  seem  unimportant, 
and  just  now  this  Declaration  may  not  seem  of  much  consequence;  but 
some  time  in  the  future  it  may  rise  up  and  haunt  us. 

We  want  to  preserve  the  natural  resources  of  this  country,  and  we 
agree  with  you,  Mr  President,  that  we  also  want  to  preserve  the  moral 

(199) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


health  of  this  country.  We  believe  with  you  that  there  can  be  no  material 
prosperity  unless  accompanied  by  moral  prosperity.  The  Governors  of 
the  States  working  along  their  lines  will  always  be  ready  to  cooperate 
with  the  President  of  the  United  States  working  along  his  line;  but  I 
believe  in  maintaining  the  ideas  of  Government  as  they  were  laid  out  by 
the  Fathers  of  the  Republic— that  is,  let  us  always  remain  an  indestruc- 
tible union  of  self-governing  States.  I  do  not  believe  in  establishing 
any  precedent,  however  unimportant  it  may  seem  at  the  time,  which 
step  by  step  may  eventually  destroy  that  independence. 

Now,  I  favor  the  amendment  offered  by  the  Governor  of  North  Caro- 
lina— 

Governor  Noel  :  Do  you  not  understand  this  contemplates  merely  an 
invitation,  and  if  you  did  not  choose  to  accept  it  next  time — 
Governor  Folk:  Governor,  you  are  from  Mississippi? 
Governor  Noel  :  Yes. 

Governor  Folk:  You  know  the  rules  of  Southern  hospitality? 
Governor  Noel  :  Yes. 

Governor  Folk  :  When  you  are  invited  to  a  place  is  it  the  part  of  the 
guest  to  suggest  to  the  host  that  you  be  invited  again?     [Laughter] 

Governor  Noel:  No;  but  I  can  express  my  joy  at  coming.     [Laughter 
and  applause] 

Governor  Folk  :  You  can  express  that  as  we  have  done. 
Governor  Noel:  Permit  me  to  ask  another  question:  Was  not  the 
purpose  of  this  meeting  two-fold— one  purpose  being  that  we  might  get 
information  and  inspiration,  and  the  other  that  through  our  closer  and 
more  intimate  knowledge  of  State  and  local  conditions  we  might 
express  those  State  conditions  to  the  Senators  and  Representatives  who 
are  here,  a  long  way  from  home,  and  to  the  extent  of  our  expression 
of  the  needs  and  views  and  interests  that  we  would  exercise  moral  suasion 
on  our  Senators  and  Representatives?  I  thought  that  was  one  of  the 
purposes  of  the  Conference.     [Laughter  and  applause] 

Governor  Folk:  I  simply  want  to  say,  Mr  President,  that  this  Con- 
ference has  been  of  great  value  to  me,  and  I  believe  to  every  man  in  it. 
I  believe  it  will  have  an  influence  for  good  that  will  be  lasting.  It  has 
given  me  information  that  I  could  not  have  obtained  otherwise;  and  as 
I  said  yesterday,  as  soon  as  I  return  to  Missouri  I  intend  to  appoint  a 
State  Forestry  Commission  to  take  up  the  subjects  that  have  been  dis- 
cussed here,  and  I  hope  other  Governors  will  do  the  same.  [Applause] 
It  has  been  of  nnich  benefit  to  me  and  to  all;  and  I  am  sure  that  we 
uld  all  be  -lad  to  come  back  again.  It  is  simply  a  question  of  principle 
that  I  was  discussing.     That  is  all. 

Governor  Glenn:  With  the  permission  of  the  Gentlemen  I  will  with- 
draw my  motion.  It  lias  been  suggested  to  me  by  the  Governor  of  Ken- 
tucky, who,  since  I  have  been  In  re  I  have  come  to  conclude  has  a  very 

(200) 


Adoption  of  the  Declarat 


ion 


_ level  head  on  him,  that  we  never  have  had,  and  probably  never  will  have 
a  little  man  in  the  Presidency.     Therefore  I  withdraw  the  amendment' 
[Great  applause] 

The  President:  I  will  say,  Governor  Glenn,  I  can  not  imagine  that 
there  ever  would  be  a  President  who,  if  asked  by  a  third  of  the  Governors 
would  at  all  hesitate  to  call  a  Conference.  I  should  assume  that  as  a 
matter  of  course.  I  think  the  only  thing  that  would  make  a  President 
hesitate  about  calling  such  a  Conference  would  be  a  lack  of  knowledge  as 
to  whether  the  Governors  wished  to  come;  and  the  minute  he  was  assured 
that  as  many  as  a  third  of  them  desired  the  Conference,  I  do  not  believe 
there  would  be  any  question  but  that  he  would  call  it. 

Gentlemen,  is  there  further  debate? 

[Cries  of  "Question,"  "Question"] 

The  question  was  taken  viva  voce,  and  Governor  Blanchard's  motion 
was  agreed  to  without  dissenting  voice. 


The  President-:  Before  calling  for  the  regular  business,  let  me  say 
one  word  m  appreciation  of  the  high  plane  of  thought  and  action  on 
which  the  Governors  have  carried  on  this  Conference.  I  believe  the 
Conference  has  done  good.  I  believe  that  it  will  do  very  much  good- 
and  the  reason  is  to  be  found  in  the  spirit  in  which  you  Gentlemen  have 
approached  your  task.  [Applause]  You  have  set  before  yourselves 
clearly  the  ideal  of  simple  performance  of  duty  to  the  People  of  the 
States  and  of  the  Nation.  And  I  think  you  can  go  to  your  homes  feeling 
that  as  a  reward  for  the  drain  upon  your  time,  for  the  trouble  you  have 
taken,  you  have  the  knowledge  that  you  have  worked  efficiently  for  the 
furtherance  of  the  popular  good;  and  I  thank  you  heartily  for  what  you 
have  done.     [Great  applause] 

I  now  ask  that  Mr  Bryan  speak  to  the  Conference.     [Great  applause] 

Address  by  Hon.  William  Jennings  Bryan 

Mr  President,  Governors,  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Conference: 

I  hesitate  to  speak  at  all,  because  the  Governors  who  are  assembled 
here  represent  constituencies,  and  those  constituencies,  well  marked 
are  looking  to  them  for  the  protection  of  State  interests  in  conjunction 
with  the  development  of  National  interests,  and  I  recognize  that  a 
private  citizen  like  myself  with  no  fixed  constituency  [laughter  and 
applause]  speaks,  if  he  speaks  at  all,  either  for  himself  or  for  a  nebulous 
portion  of  the  Nation.  I  recognize  that  such  an  one  speaks  only  for 
himself  and  therefore  with  less  authority;  and  I  have  been  anxious" that 

(201) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


those  who  were  in  official  position  should  discuss  these  questions  and 
leave  us  unofficial  visitors  to  the  last. 

Then  I  recognize,  too,  that  it  is  impossible  in  the  short  time  that  one 
can  properly  occupy  to  take  up  and  elaborate  any  of  these  themes; 
therefore,  in  the  time  that  it  is  permitted  me  to  speak,  I  am  going  to 
present  in  writing  certain  observations  which  I  think  apply  to  the  entire 
subject;  and  I  will  ask  the  pardon  of  this  assembly  for  reading,  for  I 
assure  vou  that  reading  is  no  more  objectionable  to  you  than  it  is  to 
me.     [Laughter] 

I  acknowledge  my  obligation  to  President  Roosevelt  for  the  oppor- 
tunity which  he  has  given  me  to  participate  in  this  meeting.  The  Con- 
ference marks  the  beginning  of  a  new  era,  during  which  increasing  atten- 
tion will  be  given  to  the  far-reaching  problems  involved  in  the  conser- 
vation of  the  Nation's  resources.  [Applause]  The  epoch-making  speech 
with  which  the  chief  executive  opened  the  First  Session  must  exert  a 
powerful  influence  upon  the  country  at  large,  as  it  has  upon  those  who 
were  fortunate  enough  to  hear  him. 

The  assembling  of  the  Governors  of  nearly  all  the  forty-six  States  is 
in  itself  an  historic  event  of  the  first  magnitude,  for  this  meeting,  and 
the  future  meetings  which  this  one  assures,  will  facilitate  cooperation 
between  the  States,  make  easier  the  doing  of  those  things  which  should 
be  done  by  the  national  Government,  and  stimulate  the  several  States 
to  act  more  speedily  and  with  better  information  upon  the  things  which 
should  be  done  by  the  States  independently.  There  has  been  some 
difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  relative  spheres  of  the  Nation  and  the 
State,  but  such  discussions  as  we  have  had  here  will  help  to  define  these 
spheres  and  to  harmonize  conflicting  opinions. 

I  am  a  strict  constructionist,  if  that  means  to  believe  that  the  Federal 
Government  is  one  of  delegated  powers  and  that  constitutional  limita- 
tions should  be  carefully  observed.  I  am  jealous  of  any  encroachment 
upon  the  rights  of  the  State,  believing  that  the  States  are  as  indestructible 
as  the  Union  is  indissoluble.  It  is,  however,  entirely  consistent  with 
this  theory  to  believe,  as  I  do  believe,  that  it  is  just  as  imperative  that 
the  general  Government  shall  discharge  the  duties  delegated  to  it,  as 
it  is  that  the  States  shall  exercise  the  powers  reserved  to  them.  There 
is  no  twilight  zone  between  the  Nation  and  the  State,  in  which  exploiting 
inliri  rfj  <<m  take  refuge  from  both,  [great  applause]  and  my  observation  is 
that  most — not  all,  but  most — of  the  contentions  over  the  line  between 
Nation  and  State  are  traceable  to  predatory  corporations  which  are 
trying  to  shield  themselves  from  deserved  punishment,  or  endeavoring 
to  prevent  ueeded  restraining  legislation.  The  first  point  which  I  desire 
to  make  is  thai  earnest  men,  with  an  unselfish  purpose  and  concerned 
only  for  the  public  good,  will  be  able  to  agree  upon  legislation  which  will 

(202) 


Address  by  Hon.  William  Jennings  Bryan 

not  only  preserve  for  the  future  the  inheritance  which  we  have  received 
from  a  bountiful  Providence,  but  preserve  it  in  such  a  way  as  to  avoid 
the  dangers  of  centralization.  Nothing  that  is  necessary  is  impossible; 
and  it  would  be  a  reflection  upon  the  intelligence,  as  well  as  upon  the 
patriotism  of  our  people,  to  doubt  the  value  of  gatherings  of  this  kind. 

The  time  alloted  to  each  speaker  is  so  short  that  instead  of  attempting 
to  discuss  the  various  questions  presented  I  shall  content  myself  with  a 
few  suggestions  in  line  with  the  very  able  papers  that  have  been  presented 
by  the  specialists  who  have  appeared  before  us.  I  begin  with  the  propo- 
sition that  it  should  be  our  purpose  not  only  to  preserve  the  Nation's 
resources  for  future  generations  by  reducing  waste  to  a  minimum,  but 
that  we  should  see  to  it  that  a  few  of  the  people  do  not  monopolize  that 
which  is  in  equity  the  property  of  all  the  People.  [Applause]  The 
earth  belongs  to  each  generation,  and  it  is  as  criminal  to  fetter  future 
generations  with  perpetual  franchises,  making  the  multitude  servants  to 
a  favored  faction  of  the  population,  as  it  would  be  to  unnecessarily 
impair  the  common  store.  [Applause]  I  am  glad  that  Secretary 
Garfield  emphasized  this  point.  It  is  one  that  must  always  be  kept  in 
mind  by  the  Nation  and  by  the  several  States. 

The  first  national  asset  is  to  be  found  in  the  life  of  the  People,  and  Mr 
Mitchell  very  properly  and  with  great  force  pointed  out  the  importance 
of  safeguarding  the  life,  the  limbs,  and  the  health  of  those  who  are 
engaged  in  converting  the  Nation's  natural  resources  into  material 
wealth.  I  would  go  a  step  farther  and  say  that  we  could  well  afford  to 
include  in  the  appropriations  made  by  Congress  a  sum  sufficient  to  carry 
on  necessary  investigations  into  the  causes  of  diseases  national  in  their 
scope,  and  to  stimulate  the  scorch  for  remedies  which  would  add  to  the 
life,  health,  and  usefulness  of  the  whole  population.     [Applause] 

I  was  surprised  at  the  statistics  given  in  regard  to  our  coal  and  our 
iron  ore.  While  it  is  possible  that  new  coal  measures  and  new  ore  beds 
may  be  discovered,  we  can  not  afford  to  base  our  conduct  upon  specula- 
tions as  to  what  may  yet  be  discovered.  We  should  begin  an  intelligent 
supervision  and  conservation  of  that  which  is  known  to  exist,  and  I 
respectfully  submit  that  it  is  worth  while  to  ask  ourselves  whether  we 
can  afford  to  offer  a  bounty  to  those  who  are  engaged  in  exhausting  the 
supply  of  raw  materials,  which,  when  gone,  can  not  be  replaced. 
Surely  if  there  is  any  importation  which  we  can  properly  encourage  by  a 
free  list,  it  is  the  importation  of  those  raw  materials  of  which  our  own 
supply  is  limited.  [Applause]  And  what  I  say  in  regard  to  coal  and 
iron  ore  is  equally  applicable  to  timber.  It  is  hardly  consistent  to 
discourage  the  importation  of  lumber  while  we  worry  about  the  devasta- 
tion of  our  forests. 

Mr  Hill  has  rendered  the  Conference  a  real  service  in  presenting  the 
facts  and  statistics  set  forth  in  his  address  on  land  and  its  cultivation. 

(203) 
56254 — 09 16 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

Few  of  us,  probably,  were  conscious  of  the  impairment  of  the  crop  value 
of  our  soil.  I  am  sure  that  a  clear  understanding  of  this  subject  will  lead 
to  a  still  further  enlargement  of  the  work  of  the  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture, and  to  still  closer  cooperation  between  the  Department  of  Agri- 
culture and  the  States  in  teaching  economical  methods  of  agriculture. 
[Applause]  Already  the  rapid  growth  of  the  agricultural  college  offers 
encouragement,  and  I  am  glad  to  express  my  appreciation  of  the  valuable 
work  done  by  Secretary  Wilson  and  his  associates  in  bringing  to  our 
country  fruits,  plants,  and  grasses  suited  to  the  different  parts  of  our 
country.  As  the  farmer  pays  more  than  his  share  of  the  taxes  and  re- 
ceives less  than  his  share  of  the  direct  benefits  which  flow  from  national 
appropriations,  it  is  only  justice  to  him  that  we  shall  be  liberal  in  the 
support  of  every  effort  put  forth  for  the  improvement  of  agriculture. 
[Applause] 

Irrigation  has  justified  the  arguments  which  led  to  the  inauguration 
of  the  work.  No  one  who  has  witnessed  the  transformation  of  the  desert 
into  field  and  garden  can  doubt  the  wisdom  of  the  steps  that  have  been 
taken.  Here,  as  elsewhere,  both  the  Nation  and  the  State  can  find  a 
field  for  legitimate  activity ;  and  I  am  sure  that  there  will  be  a  continua- 
tion of  this  work  until  all  of  the  waters  which  can  be  utilized  for  that 
purpose  have  been  appropriated. 

And  I  will  add  here  that  last  September  I  visited  the  southern  part  of 
Idaho  and  saw  there  a  tract  that  has  recently  been  reclaimed  under  the 
operation  of  the  Carey  law.  I  had  been  there  ten  years  before.  I  had 
looked  upon  these  lands  so  barren  that  it  seemed  as  if  it  were  impossible 
they  could  ever  be  made  useful.  When  I  went  back  this  time  and  found 
that  in  three  years  170,000  acres  of  land  had  been  reclaimed;  that  where 
three  years  ago  nothing  but  the  sage  brush  grew  they  are  now  raising 
seven  tons  of  alfalfa  to  the  acre,  and  more  than  a  hundred  bushels  of 
oats;  when  I  found  that  ten  thousand  people  are  living  on  that  tract; 
that  in  one  town  that  has  grown  up  in  that  time  there  are  1,910  inhabit- 
ants, and  that  in  the  three  banks  they  had  deposits  of  over  $500,000, — I 
had  some  realization  of  the  magic  power  of  water  when  applied  to  these 
desert  lands.     [Applause] 

The  same  principle  which  was  invoked  in  support  of  irrigation  can  be 
invoked  in  support  of  drainage.  The  question  is  not  whether  the  water 
shall  be  brought  on  the  land  or  taken  off  the  land ;  it  is  whether  the  land 
shall  be  made  tillable  and  its  wealth-producing  qualities  utilized.  Drain- 
age of  the  swamps  is,  therefore,  as  legitimate  a  work  as  the  reclamation 
of  arid  wast< 

No  subject  has  been  brought  out  more  prominently  at  this  Conference 
than  tin-  subject  of  forestry,  and  it  justifies  the  time  devoted  to  it;  for 
our  timber  lands  touch  our  national  interests  at  several  points.     Our 

(204) 


Address  by  Hon.  William  Jennings  Bryan 


use  of  lumber  is  enormous,  but  immense  as  would  be  the  inconvenience 
and  loss  caused  by  the  absence  of  lumber,  the  consequence  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  our  forests  would  be  still  more  disastrous  to  the  Nation.  As  has 
been  shown,  the  timber  on  our  mountain  ranges  protects  our  water  sup- 
ply. Not  to  speak  of  changes  in  climate  which  might  follow  the  denud- 
ing of  our  mountains,  the  loss  to  the  irrigated  country  could  not  be 
remedied,  and  the  damage  to  the  streams  could  not  be  calculated.  And 
if  this  is  not  enough  to  arouse  the  interest  of  all,  I  may  add  that  the 
destruction  of  the  forests  on  the  mountain  ranges  would  in  time  impair 
the  underflow  upon  which  we  rely  for  our  well  water. 

The  good  effects  of  this  Conference  are  already  apparent  in  the  deter- 
mination expressed  by  several  Governors  to  at  once  appoint  Forestry 
Commissions  and  begin  such  work  as  the  States  can  do.  [Applause]  In 
this  case  action  is  so  urgent  and  the  field  to  be  covered  so  large  that 
both  the  Nation  and  the  several  States  can  exercise  themselves  to  the 
full  without  danger  of  doing  too  much.  [Applause]  The  national  reser- 
vations already  made  in  the  West,  and  the  new  reservations  that  ought 
to  be  made,  and  are  likely  to  be  made,  in  the  White  Mountains  and  in 
the  Appalachian  Range,  can  doubtless  be  so  administered  as  to  protect 
national  interests  without  unduly  burdening  the  States  in  which  the  res- 
ervations are  located,  or  needlessly  interfering  with  the  development  of 
the  States.  No  national  policy  need  retard  the  development  of  the 
Western  States,  and  their  own  interests  would  restrain  them  from  sacri- 
ficing future  wealth  and  protection  for  temporary  advantage. 

Lastly,  I  come  to  our  interior  waterways.  I  shall  not  defend  the  im- 
provement of  these  waterways  on  the  ground  that  such  improvement 
would  help  to  regulate  railroad  rates  (although  it  would  aid  regulation), 
for  whenever  the  people  are  ready  they  will  exercise  the  power  which 
they  have  to  regulate  by  legislation.  But  water  traffic  is  less  expensive 
than  traffic  by  rail,  and  there  are  many  commodities  which  can  be  trans- 
ported much  more  cheaply  by  water  than  they  possibly  could  be  car- 
ried on  land.  I  believe  it  has  been  estimated  that  an  expenditure  of 
$500,000,000  on  interior  waterways  would  result  in  a  saving  of  nearly 
$200,000,000  annually. 

If  this  saving  were  equally  divided  between  the  producers  and  the 
consumers  it  would  be  an  enormous  profit  to  both;  and  Mr  Carnegie 
has  pointed  out  that  water  transportation,  by  requiring  less  iron  and 
less  coal  in  proportion  to  the  freight  carried,  would  enable  us  to  postpone 
the  exhaustion  of  our  iron  mines  and  our  coal  beds. 

The  development  of  water  transportation  is  essentially  a  national  proj- 
ect because  the  water-courses  run  by  and  through  many  States.  And 
yet,  as  has  been  pointed  out,  it  would  be  possible  for  the  States  to  do  a 
certain  amount  of  developing  along  this  line  if  they  were  permitted  to 
avail  themselves  of  the  use  of  the  water-power  that  could  be  developed. 


(205) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

Just  a  word  in  conclusion  about  an  investment  in  permanent  improve- 
ments. Money  spent  in  care  for  the  life  and  health  of  the  People,  in 
protecting  the  soil  from  erosion  and  from  exhaustion,  in  preventing  waste 
in  the  use  of  minerals  of  limited  supply,  in  the  reclamation  of  deserts 
and  of  swamps,  in  the  preservation  of  forests  still  remaining,  and  in  the 
replanting  of  denuded  tracts — money  invested  in  these  and  in  the  de- 
velopment of  waterways  and  in  the  deepening  of  harbors  is  an  investment 
yielding  an  annual  return.  If  any  of  these  expenditures  fail  to  bring  a 
return  at  once  the  money  expended  is  like  a  bequest  to  those  who  come 
after  it.  And,  as  the  parent  lives  for  his  children  as  well  as  for  him- 
self, so  the  citizen  provides  for  the  future  as  well  as  for  the  present. 

This  gathering  will  be  remembered  by  future  generations,  because  they 
as  well  as  ourselves  will  be  the  recipients  of  the  benefits  which  will  flow 
from  this  Conference.  We  have  all  been  strengthened  by  communion 
together;  our  vision  has  been  enlarged,  and  the  enthusiasm  here  aroused 
will  permeate  every  State  and  every  community.     [Great  applause] 


The  President  :  Before  proceeding  with  the  business,  I  will  ask  that 
Judge  Goudy,  President  of  the  National  Irrigation  Congress,  be  permitted 
to  extend  an  invitation. 

Judge  Goudy  :  Mr  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Conference :  As  the 
President  of  the  National  Irrigation  Congress,  I  take  pleasure  in  extend- 
ing to  you,  and  each  of  you,  a  most  cordial  invitation  to  be  present  at 
the  Sixteenth  Session  of  this  Congress,  to  be  held  at  Albuquerque,  New 
Mexico,  September  29  to  October  3  next.  This  association,  Gentlemen,  if 
you  will  bear  with  me  for  a  moment,  has  been  engaged  for  a  number  of 
years  in  discussing  and  deliberating  on  the  matters  that  you  have  been 
discussing  and  considering  here — especially  the  preservation  of  the  forests, 
because  we  realize  more  than  anyone  else  that  without  the  forests  being 
preserved  and  conserved  at  the  headwaters  of  the  streams,  irrigation  is 
bound  to  cease  or  to  be  greatly  retarded.  Some  one  has  said  that  we  are 
wild  and  wooly  in  the  West.  I  desire  to  assure  you  that  we  take  Puck 
and  Judge,  and  read  Harper's  and  Leslie's  weeklies  and  other  great  civi- 
lized  documents,  and  that  in  Colorado  at  least  we  are  no  longer  in  a  state 
of  civil  war.  We  are  quiet  and  peaceful,  and  those  of  you  who  have  not 
been  out  West,  if  you  will  come  out  there  next  fall,  will  realize  for  the  first 
lime  in  your  lives  that  you  are  outdoors.  [Applause]  You  will  also  see 
examples  of  what  is  not  only  possible  hut  practicable  in  reclamation  by 
•ns  of  irrigation.  In  .New  Mexico  and  in  Colorado  alone  millions  of 
dollars  have  been  expended  by  private  enterprise  in  reclaiming  vast  tracts 
of  rich  land  . 

(206) 


Address  by  Governor  Comer 


I  am  reminded  that  the  regular  program  is  to  be  taken  up,  and  I 
want  to  add  but  one  word.  In  those  two  States  we  have  reclaimed  more 
than  two  million  acres  by  private  enterprise.  I  want  you  to  look  at  the 
forest  reservations  in  the  southern  part  of  Colorado  on  the  headwaters  of 
the  Rio  Grande,  and  I  want  to  say  that,  although  some  of  the  Governors 
of  the  different  States  differ  from  Gifford  Pinchot  in  his  policy,  after 
personal  observation  and  experience  in  that  reservation  we  fully  endorse 
the  policy  and  the  practice  of  Gifford  Pinchot  and  his  Forest  Service. 
[Great  applause] 

The  President:  It  has  been  suggested  that  as  this  is  especially  a  meet- 
ing of  the  Governors  of  the  States,  the  Conference  would  particularly 
like  to  hear  from  any  and  all  Governors  who  have  not  yet  spoken; 
[applause]  and  if  any  Governor  will  speak  to  us  we  will  be  very  glad  to 
hear  him. 

I  am  glad  to  recognize  Governor  Comer. 

Address  by  Braxton  Bragg  Comer 
governor  op  alabama 

Mr  President  and  Governors: 

I  announce  myself  first  because  Alabama  stands  first  in  the  alphabetic 
list  of  States. 

I  have  not  spoken  before  because  Alabama  combines  all  the  great 
resources  under  discussion,  and  I  wished  to  make  a  talk  embracing  the 
State's  interest  in  all  of  these  resources.  In  mineral,  iron  and  coal, 
Alabama  stands  among  the  first.  To  give  you  some  idea  of  the  impor- 
tance of  our  iron  and  coal  production;  both  at  times  are  largely  exported, 
iron  being  sent  to  England,  Belgium,  and  Spain.  In  the  Birmingham 
district  iron  is  being  converted  into  basic  steel  rails  on  a  very  large  scale, 
the  Birmingham  basic  steel  rail  being  classed  higher  than  the  Bessemer 
steel  rail.  So  acute  has  the  competition  for  Alabama  iron  and  steel 
become  that  the  United  States  Steel  Company,  that  greatest  of  corpora- 
tions, stronger  almost  than  the  Government  itself,  during  the  late  finan- 
cial depression  thought  it  a  good  and  profitable  time  to  buy  our  largest 
iron  and  steel  industry,  the  Tennessee  Coal  and  Iron  Company,  and  they 
are  now  carrying  it  among  their  best  assets.  In  this  purchase  they  own 
something  like  300,000  acres  of  land.  Under  the  law,  they  can  shut 
down  operations  or  fully  develop  their  holdings  as  they  see  proper  or  most 
advantageous;  and  I  can  not  understand  how  by  State  or  Federal  statute 
you  can  limit  the  output,  whether  great  or  small.  In  fact  in  Alabama 
we  believe,  instead  of  the  supply  of  coal  and  iron  ore  in  the  mineral 
district  being  limited  to  a  few  decades,  that  like  the  supply  in  Wyoming 

(207) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

it  will  last  for  hundreds  of  years,  and  the  people  of  my  State  are  more 
anxious  for  development  than  otherwise. 

Forestry  has  been  discussed.  For  some  reason  Alabama  has  not  been 
mentioned  by  any  one,  either  as  regards  our  great  supply  of  coal  and 
iron  lands,  or  our  immense  tracts  of  timbered  lands,  or  our  very  high 
position  when  it  comes  to  navigable  streams.  Commencing  in  the 
Carolinas  the  pine  trees  start  (and  by  the  way,  Governor  Glenn,  your 
State  gets  its  name,  "Tar  Heel  State,"  from  the  fact  that  it  is  covered 
with  great  bodies  of  pine  timber;  back  one  hundred  years  ago  this  timber 
was  used  for  the  purpose  of  making  tar,  and  you  are  often  called  "Tar 
Heels")  as  a  belt  of  yellow  pine  timber  which  sweeps  on  through  Georgia, 
Alabama,  Florida,  Mississippi,  and  even  Texas,  constituting  the  great 
yellow  pine  belt  of  the  United  States.  Xo  timber  or  lumber  stands 
higher  or  better,  and  east  of  the  Mississippi  none  is  in  more  common  use. 
How  to  preserve  what  is  left,  and  in  due  justice  to  the  owners  of  these 
lands  and  to  the  future  weal  of  the  State,  and  the  people  thereof,  prevent 
its  utter  destruction,  is  one  of  the  most  serious  problems  before  us  today. 
We  have  been  anxiously  waiting  to  find  out  what  you  Governors  are 
going  to  suggest  and  do  about  it.  The  only  thing  I  have  heard  recom- 
mended to  you,  or  by  you,  is  that  part  of  President  Roosevelt's  address 
in  which  he  states  that  the  Supreme  Court  has  sustained  the  laws  of 
Maine  and  Xew  Jersey  looking  to  the  preservation  of  this  great  property 
of  the  Nation. 

In  Alabama  we  have  a  forestry  law,  and  the  execution  of  it  is  in  the 
hands  of  our  Game  Commission.  The  authority  of  the  Commission 
extends  to  every  county  in  the  State,  and  while  the  law  has  been  in 
existence  only  about  twelve  months  we  have  already  convicted  a  man 
for  carelessly  setting  fire  to  timber.  Our  law  is  dependent  on  the  coopera- 
tion of  the  owners  of  the  timber,  and  the  State  is  doing  its  best  to  encour- 
age this  cooperation  so  that  the  cutting  of  the  timber  will  be  after  some 
defined  plan  that  will  secure  its  continued  growth  and  prevent  the  com- 
plete destruction  of  the  forest. 

As  stated  above,  the  only  suggestion  so  far  made  has  been  that  a  State 
can,  by  statute,  limit  the  use  of  the  timber  to  sizes  above  a  certain  diam- 
eter. While  this  might  interfere  with  the  plans  of  some  of  the  owners, 
yet  in  the  end  it  will  be  unquestionably  the  best  thing  for  the  owners  and 
the  State.  I  do  not  know  that  I,  as  Governor  of  Alabama,  could  recom- 
mend such  a  law,  and  I  do  not  know  that  even  if  I  should  recommend  it 
the  Legislature  would  enact  it.  I  have  heard  you,  yourself,  Mr  President, 
say  that  Governors  could  witness,  and  you  could  witness  that  all  laws 
recommended  by  a  President  or  Governor  were  not  adopted  by  Congress 
or  Legislatures;  and  if  you  of  the  "  Big  Stick"  can  not  manage  Congress, 
how  much  harder  would  it  be  for  a  Governor  to  direct  a  Legislature. 
[Laughter] 

(208) 


Address  by  Governor  Comer 


To  show  how  fast  timber  is  growing  in  our  section,  we  have  mills  that 
cut  100,000,  150,000,  even  200,000  feet  per  day.  This  is  1,000,000  feet 
per  week.  If  a  law  was  made  and  observed  limiting  the  cutting  of  timber 
to  ten  inches,  we  would  have  continuously  growing  trees  larger  than  you 
could  plant,  and  instead  of  the  timber  property  of  the  State  being  in 
constant  danger  of  total  destruction,  we  would  have  it  continually  grow- 
ing and  everlasting.  If  this  could  be  done,  then  this  meeting  would  not 
be  in  vain.  I  will  simply  add  that  the  timber  of  Alabama,  being  cut  just 
as  it  is,  will  probably  last  only  about  twenty  or  twenty-five  years.  What 
will  come  after  that,  we  do  not  know.  There  are  quite  a  few  trees  being 
put  out  by  our  corporations,  and  one  of  our  railroads  is  leading  the  way, 
planting  many  catalpas. 

^  Discussion  of  irrigation  in  Alabama  is  needless,  because  the  evapora- 
tion from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  on  our  southern  border  is  caught  up  in  the 
clouds  and  blown  by  our  southern  breezes  through  our  State,  and  at 
timely  intervals  waters  and  fructifies  the  whole  land. 

Mr  President,  I  was  a  member  of  the  Rivers  and  Harbors  Congress 
which  met  at  Willard  Hotel  some  time  ago,  and  I  heard  Governor  John- 
son of  Minnesota  discuss  the  waterways  of  the  States.  In  his  speech 
he  mentioned  the  rivers  of  the  States  beyond  the  Ohio,  but  did  not  get 
down  as  far  as  Alabama.  Now,  Governor  Johnson  did  not  know  that 
Alabama  has  a  river,  did  you,  Governor?  And  yet  from  what  I  can 
hear  from  my  State  down  there,  which  holds  a  primary  next  Monday, 
you  would  like  to  stop  awhile  in  our  State  and  know  a  great  deal  more 
about  it;  in  fact,  I  do  not  know  of  a  State  in  which  you  have  more  inter- 
est right  now,  and  I  wish  to  suggest  to  you,  both' for  the  present  and 
future,  that  you  study  our  resources  and  become  better  acquainted 
with  us.  There  is  my  friend,  Hon.  W.  J.  Bryan.  I  must  treat  vou  both 
exactly  alike  today,  regardless  of  how  much  favoritism  mav  be  shown 
next  Monday. 

When  Mr  Bryan  alluded  to  the  mineral  resources  of  the  United  States, 
he  forgot  that  Alabama  was  on  the  map;  forgot  that  Alabama  had  coal 
and  iron,  notwithstanding  he  had  been  to  Birmingham  more  than  once, 
and  he  did  not  know  that  the  Alabama  Birmingham  stands  second  only 
to  that  great  English  Birmingham,  when  it  conies  to  what  can  and  will 
be  done.  In  waterways,  Alabama  stands  second  only  to  Louisiana  in 
the  sisterhood  of  States.  With  the  exception  of  Louisiana,  we  have 
more  watenvays  and  less  channel  than  any  other  State  in  the  Union. 
I  say  we  have  the  waterway;  what  we  want  is  the  channel.     [Laughter] 

Mr  President,  in  our  State  we  concede  that  the  Federal  Government 
has  the  easement  in  all  of  our  streams  when  it  comes  to  navigation 
rights.  When  it  comes  to  ownership  of  the  water,  or  the  power  to  be 
developed  in  our  waterways,  like  Governor  Folk,  of  Missouri,  I  am  a 
little  bit  skittish  and  am  inclined  to  back  out. 

(209) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


Outside  of  the  navigation  easement,  we  believe  in  the  riparian  owner. 
Whatever  there  is  in  the  power  of  these  waterways  belongs  to  us,  and  if 
the  Federal  Government  proposes  to  take  hold  of  this  power  and  sell  or 
rent  the  franchise,  we  believe  it  will  be  dangerous  to  tinker  with  the 
sacred  rights  of  State  sovereignty. 

Our  waterways  commence  with  the  Tennessee.  This  river  connects 
with  the  great  Mississippi  river  system,  and  this  system,  no  matter  from 
what  section  you  are,  creates  a  factor  of  the  most  far-reaching  impor- 
tance, unequaled  in  the  United  States,  perhaps,  or  in  the  world.  This 
system,  extending  from  the  Great  Lakes,  stretching  out  like  arteries  all 
the  way  down  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  thence  across  to  other  lands 
that  are  touched  by  water  carriage,  is  an  inheritance  we  should  pre- 
serve forever.  It  is  the  chief  artery  of  the  nation,  and  for  Alabama,  we 
thank  God  we  connect  with  it,  and  we  trust  the  time  will  come  when  as 
State  and  Nation  we  will  make  the  most  of  it,  and  with  whatever  can 
be  done  to  develop  and  utilize  it  Alabama  is  in  hearty  accord. 

Tennessee  river  runs  right  through  our  State,  and  we  want  the  channel 
of  the  Tennessee  deepened  and  opened  up,  and  the  power  particularly 
taken  care  of.  When  we  speak  of  our  waterways,  we  have  at  Florence 
and  Tuscumbia  the  famous  Muscle  Shoals,  and  there  is  now  being  devel- 
oped 188,000  horsepower  there,  second  only  to  Niagara — a  tremendous 
proposition.  And  yet  we  have  fifty  well-defined  powers  in  all,  not 
counting  our  streams.  Governor  Noel,  of  Mississippi,  has  only  one 
waterway,  the  great  Mississippi;  but  when  you  come  to  our  State  we  have 
many,  and  I  will  say  to  Governor  Noel  that  while  we  have  the  Tennes- 
see, we  have  also  the  Mississippi.  Besides  these  we  have  the  Chatta- 
hoochee running  along  the  side  of  our  State  to  the  Gulf  at  Apalachicola, 
giving  power  and  navigation.  We  have  the  Coosa  connecting  with  the 
Alabama,  and  the  Tallapoosa,  running  from  the  center  of  the  State, 
with  much  undeveloped  power. 

On  the  western  edge  of  the  State  we  have  the  Tombigbee  flowing 
down  to  the  Gulf,  and  crossing  the  middle  section  of  the  State  we  have 
the  Warrior,  both  great  waterways,  both  for  power  and  for  navigation. 
As  Colonel  Bryan  suggested  just  now,  we  want  to  use  these  rivers  for 
transportation,  and  we  also  want  to  use  them  for  power.  The  Federal 
Government  might  and  should  go  into  developing  the  navigation  of 
these  waters,  because  in  that  they  have  an  easement;  but  when  it  comes 
to  an  intimation  that  the  Federal  Government  owns  the  power  of  these 
waters,  then  we  are  scared.  We  understand  how  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment can  rent  out  vast  areas  of  its  own  lands  to  ranchmen  on  which  to 
graze  their  cattle,  but  when  you  come  to  renting  a  river,  the  riparian 
rights  you  do  not  control,  we  are  a  bit  afraid.  Yet  we  are  in  hearty 
accord  with  the  whole  system  of  improving  our  waterways  for  navigable 

(210) 


Address  by  Governor  Comer 


purposes,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  every  Governor  will  agree  with  me 
that  this  should  be  done.  To  repeat,  we  have  the  waterways;  what  we 
want  is  the  channel. 

Some  time  since  I  was  traveling  with  a  gentleman  in  Georgia,  and  we 
were  discussing  the  waterfalls  of  Georgia.  We  spoke  of  Tallulah  and 
the  beautiful  Bridal  Veil  falls,  and  spoke  of  falls  in  other  States.  My 
companion  remarked  very  dryly  that  we  had  a  great  many  waterfalls, 
but  only  Niagara  had  the  water.  [Laughter]  In  developing  these 
waterways  for  navigation  and  for  power,  let  the  Federal  Government 
do  its  share,  and  let  each  individual  State  do  its  share,  and  not  mix  up 
rights.  I  am  willing  to  go  along  this  way.  Unlike  Governor  Blanchard, 
of  Louisiana,  my  time  as  Governor  is  not  yet  out,  having  nearly  three 
years  to  serve,  and  I  will  have  plenty  of  time  to  take  this  great  question 
before  the  people  and  discuss  it  with  them.  I  want  to  state  here  that 
when  we  preserve  our  water  and  make  it  useful  we  preserve  the  strongest 
factor  in  taking  care  of  the  transportation  of  the  State,  and  thereby 
secure  reasonable  charges  from  our  public  corporations. 

Speaking  of  our  national  resources,  I  wish  to  endorse  what  Mr  Hill 
said.  I  understand  that  out  West  they  swear  by  Jim  Hill.  Will  call 
your  attention  to  the  fact  that  in  his  speech  he  stated  that  36  %  of  our 
population  were  farmers,  and  that  every  business  of  the  United  States 
had  its  foundation  on  the  work  done  by  that  36%  of  our  population. 
In  other  words,  every  business  of  the  United  States  rests  on  the  agri- 
cultural industries.  Think  of  it,  Mr  President,  think  of  it!  I  have 
heard  you  say  many  times  that  you  wanted  to  give  the  under  dog  a 
chance,  and  so  do  we. 

I  will  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  it  is  the  agricultural  crop  of 
the  South — cotton — that  is  keeping  up  the  gold  reserve  and  balance  of 
trade,  and  in  a  large  measure  has  been  the  foundation  rock  of  Wall 
Street  in  its  wild  speculations.  It  is  what  it  bases  its  hope  and  trust  on, 
in  order  to  recoup  its  great  transactions.  Take  all  the  speeches  we  have 
listened  to  here,  commencing  with  the  President's  address,  coming  down 
through  all  of  them  and  embracing  that  of  Mr  Hill,  and  they  all  allude 
to  the  fact  that  we  have  to  depend  upon  the  farmers  just  as  we  go  back 
to  the  headwaters  of  our  rivers  to  preserve  conditions  there,  to  make 
the  water  safe.  So  we  have  to  go  back  to  the  foundation  of  all  busi- 
ness— agriculture — and  take  care  to  protect  the  farmers  if  we  would  be 
safe  in  State  and  Nation.  So,  coupled  with  the  care  of  our  natural 
resources  must  be  the  care  of  the  farmers.  We  say  in  common  par- 
lance that  every  business  rests  on  him.  The  farmers  make  the  crops; 
the  farmers  make  the  railroads;  the  farmers  make  the  merchants;  the 
farmers  make  the  banks;  the  farmers  make  Wall  Street.  This  is  all 
true,  and  we  know  it  is;  and  every  one  of  us,  State  and  Nation,  should 
join  in  taking  care  of  the  farmer  and  his  interest. 


(211) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

I  have  heard  of  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  being  used  to  prevent 
confiscation  of  property  without  due  process  of  law.  Mr  President,  for 
God's  sake  do  not  let  them  use  the  Fourteenth  Amendment  and  by  due 
process  of  law  oppress  and  confiscate  these  people  who  are  the  force  and 
power  of  the  nation.     [Applause] 


The  President:  We  are  greatly  indebted  to  Governor  Comer  for  his 
speech  protesting  against  centralization.  Governor,  I  do  not  understand 
that  you  object  to  the  National  Government  appropriating  money  to 
clear  out  the  Muscle  Shoals?     [Laughter  and  applause] 

Seriously,  I  want  to  say  one  word  about  what  has  been  called  the 
"twilight  land"  between  the  powers  of  the  Federal  Government  and  the 
State  Governments.  My  primary  aim,  in  the  legislation  that  I  have 
advocated  for  the  regulation  of  the  great  corporations,  has  been  to  provide 
some  effective  popular  sovereign  for  each  corporation.  [Applause]  What 
I  am  trying  to  avoid  is  finding  out,  not  negatively  but  by  decisions,  first 
that  the  State  can  not  act,  and  then  a  few  years  later,  by  another  decision, 
that  the  Nation  can  not  act  either;  and  I  am  trying  to  find  out  where 
one  or  the  other  can  act,  so  that  there  shall  always  be  some  sovereign 
power  that,  on  behalf  of  the  People,  can  hold  every  corporation,  every 
individual,  to  an  accountability,  and  so  that  its  or  his  acts  shall  be  bene- 
ficial to  all  the  People  as  a  whole.  [Applause  and  cheers]  In  matters 
that  relate  only  to  the  People  within  a  State,  of  course  the  State  is  to  be 
sovereign,  and  it  should  have  the  power  to  act.  If  the  matter  is  such 
that  the  State  itself  can  not  act,  then  I  wish,  on  behalf  of  the  State,  that 
the  National  Government  should  act.  [Applause]  Take  such  a  matter 
as  charging  rent  for  water  power.  My  position  has  been  simply  that 
where  a  privilege,  which  may  be  of  untold  value  in  the  future  to  the 
private  individuals  granted  it,  is  asked  from  the  Federal  Government, 
that  the  Federal  Government  shall  put  on  the  grant  a  condition  that  it 
shall  not  be  a  grant  in  perpetuity.  [Applause]  Make  the  term  long 
ugh  so  that  the  corporation  shall  have  an  ample  material  reward. 
The  corporation  deserves  it.  Give  an  ample  reward  to  the  captain  of 
industry,  but  not  an  indeterminate  reward.  [Applause]  Put  in  a  pro- 
vision that  will  enable  our  children  at  the  end  of  a  certain  specified 
period  to  say  what  in  their  judgment  should  be  done  with  that  great 
natural  value-  which  is  of  use  to  the  grantee  only  because  the  People  as  a 
whole  allow  him  to  use  it.  It  is  eminently  right  that  he  should  be  allowed 
to  make  ample  profit  from  his  development  of  it,  but  make  him  pay 
something  for  the  privilege,  and  make  the  grant  for  a  fixed  period,  so 
that  when  the  conditions  change,  as  in  all  probability  they  will  change, 
our  children — the  Nation  of  the  future— shall  have  the  right  to  determine 

(212) 


Synopsis  by  the  President 


the  conditions  under  which  that  privilege  shall  then  be  enjoyed.  [Ap- 
plause] Where  that  policy  can  be  best  carried  out  by  the  States,  carry 
it  out  by  the  States;  where  it  can  be  best  carried  out  by  the  Nation, 
carry  it  out  by  the  Nation.  My  concern  is  not  with  the  academic  side  of 
the  question.  My  concern  is  in  the  employment  either  of  the  principle 
of  State  rights  or  the  principle  of  National  sovereignty  as  will  best 
conserve  the  needs  of  the  People  as  a  whole.  [Great  applause  and  cheers] 
Governor  Mead  of  Washington  is  recognized. 


Address  by  A.  E.  Mead 

GOVERNOR   OF   WASHINGTON 

Mr  President  and  Gentlemen: 

I  certainly  am  glad  to  accept  the  invitation  of  the  President  to  speak 
a  few  words  in  behalf  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  realizing  that  I  have  the  honor 
to  represent  that  matchless  portion  of  the  Union  since  my  fellow-Gov- 
ernors of  the  States  of  California  and  Oregon  are  not  with  us.  The  Chief 
Executive  of  California  is  engaged  in  the  very  pleasing  occupation  of 
assisting  in  extending  a  welcome  to  the  great  fleet  that  was  dispatched  to 
the  Pacific  by  the  President  as  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Army  and 
Navy.  [Applause]  And  I  am  very  anxious,  Mr  President,  to  return  to 
the  State  of  Washington  and  be  in  at  the  finish.     [Applause] 

I  can  assure  you,  Gentlemen,  that  it  is  a  great  pleasure  to  come  from 
the  extreme  northwestern  corner  of  this  great  Republic  and  join  in  this 
important  Conference.  It  is  an  honor  and  a  privilege  indeed  to  represent 
the  magnificent  State  of  Washington  in  such  a  Conference,  recognizing 
that  a  bountiful  Providence  permits  us  at  this  time  to  furnish  one-eighth 
of  the  lumber  to  this  country  and  more  than  50%  of  the  shingles  used 
in  the  homes  of  our  People.  And  in  connection  with  the  lumbering 
industry,  it  is  a  pleasure  to  me  to  say  to  the  President  and  to  the  mem- 
bers of  this  Conference  that  in  my  three  and  one-half  years  of  experience 
as  the  Chief  Executive  of  that  State,  I  have  received  material  assistance 
from  the  lumbermen  of  the  Commonwealth  in  providing  ways  and  means 
for  the  conservation  and  the  preservation  of  our  forests.     [Applause] 

A  few  years  ago  we  provided  a  commission  for  the  purpose  of  preventing 
forest  fires,  a  law  that  ought  to  have  been  enacted  possibly  25  years  ago. 
The  conservation  of  resources  is  a  policy  that  now  has  the  support  of 
public  sentiment,  and  whether  it  is  forest  preservation,  whether  it  is 
reforestation,  whether  it  is  the  prevention  of  fires,  I  know  that  our  people 
will  be  glad  to  cooperate  with  our  sister  States  and  with  the  Government 
of  the  United  States  in  strengthening  the  laws  and  the  policies  along 

(213) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


that  line,  independent  of  any  question  of  States  rights  or  centralization. 
[Applause]  We  are  interested  along  the  line  of  forest  preservation  for  the 
benefit  of  the  industries  depending  on  timber  supply  and  for  the  benefit 
of  irrigation;  and  we  are  also  interested  in  the  conservation  of  other 
resources,  including  one  that  has  not  heretofore  been  touched  upon  here — 
an  industry  I  assume  that  is  very  dear  to  the  heart  of  the  President,  and 
that  is  the  conservation  of  our.  fishing  industry.     [Applause] 

The  President:  Good! 

Governor  Mead.  When  you  examine  the  salmon  fishing  industry  of 
this  world  you  will  find  that  it  is  confined  to  the  Territory  of  Alaska, 
which  is  represented  here  by  Governor  Hoggatt — a  Territory,  by  the  way, 
we  are  very  proud  of — [applause]  the  acquisition  of  which  was  brought 
about  by  that  great  statesman,  William  H.  Seward,  while  acting  as  Sec- 
retary of  State  during  the  administration  of  President  Johnson,  together 
with  the  Province  of  British  Columbia  and  the  States  of  Washington  and 
Oregon;  a  very  limited  area  of  this  earth's  surface  relatively,  and  yet 
from  that  area  the  salmon  pack  of  the  world  is  drawn.  We  are  interested 
in  conserving  and  perpetuating  that  industry,  an  industry  second  to 
none  in  our  State.  We  are  glad  indeed  to  cooperate  with  the  Govern- 
ment along  that  line.  It  is  an  educational  proposition.  We  need  the 
benefit  of  scientific  research  in  order  to  accomplish  quick  results.  Our 
people  are  able  and  willing  to  contribute  from  their  revenues  and  from 
their  means  for  the  conservation  of  all  these  interests.  My  friends, 
with  that  disposition,  with  an  exalted  patriotism  among  the  people  in 
favor  of  the  perpetuation  of  these  God-given  resources,  I,  for  one,  have 
no  fear  for  the  future  of  this  great  Republic  and  of  its  People. 

Governors,  I  am  proud  indeed  of  the  opportunity  to  speak  just  for  a 
moment  as  a  representative  of  the  great  Pacific  Coast.  I  am  heartily  in 
sympathy  with  every  word  and  sentiment  of  the  Declaration  that  has 
been  submitted  to  this  Conference,  by  the  Committee,  and  has  been 
adopted.  I  am  glad  indeed  to  stand  for  a  few  moments  before  you, 
representing  as  I  do  the  State  of  Washington,  a  State  whose  people  feel 
that  when  those  who  rocked  the  cradle  of  that  great  Commonwealth 
decided  to  place  across  the  map  the  name  of  the  immortal  Washington, 
they  by  that  act  reared  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  the  first  Chief 
Executive  of  this  country  higher  than  the  exalted  column  in  this  city, 
greater  than  any  eolumn  made  by  man,  a  monument  that  will  forever 
stand  imperishable.     [Applause] 


The    PrB  IDE  •'!':     Governor    Hanly    is    recognized.     Will  Governor 
Hanly  kindly  take  the  platform? 


(214) 


Address  by  Governor  Hanly 


Address  by  J.  Frank  Hanly 

GOVERNOR    OF    INDIANA 

Mr  President  and  Governors: 

I  have  hesitated  to  speak  in  this  Conference.  I  came  to  learn  and  not 
to  teach.  The  President  in  calling  this  Conference  planted  a  mile-stone 
in  American  History.  [Applause]  He  offered  us  as  the  representatives 
of  the  States  of  the  Union  an  unparalleled  opportunity;  and  in  the  Decla- 
ration we  have  just  adopted,  Mr  President,  I  submit  we  have  risen  to 
that  opportunity.     [Applause] 

I  am  in  profound  sympathy  with  the  purposes  of  this  Conference.  I 
have  been  glad  to  hear  the  papers  by  the  distinguished  gentlemen  who 
have  special  knowledge  of  the  several  questions  about  which  they  have 
written.  But  there  are  yet  some  things  in  connection  with  these  ques- 
tions that  for  my  own  benefit  and  the  benefit  of  my  People  I  should  like 
yet  to  hear  discussed.  In  suggesting  the  question  that  I  now  suggest  I 
do  not  voice  antagonism;  I  only  give  expression  to  my  spirit  of  inquirv, 
my  desire  for  information. 

I  can  well  understand  how  there  may  be  conservation  of  the  soil  and 
its  productiveness;  I  can  understand  how  there  may  be  improvement  of 
the  great  waterways.  I  should  like  to  know,  however,  how  there  can  be 
substantial  conservation  of  the  coal  deposits  of  the  country.  Is  it  to 
come  from  limitation  of  production?  We  are  now  producing  only  what  is 
necessary  to  meet  the  commercial  and  industrial  demands  of  the  Nation. 
If  we  put  a  limitation  upon  the  production  of  this  natural  resource,  do 
we  not  put  a  limitation  upon  the  industrial  development  of  the  Nation? 
Who  shall  say  where  the  production  shall  cease,  except  the  demand  that 
is  made  by  the  industrial  necessity  of  the  Nation?  If  we  limit  the  out- 
put of  coal  or  of  iron,  do  we  not  invite  at  once  the  very  condition  we  have 
been  seeking  to  avoid,  the  immediate  importation  of  these  natural  prod- 
ucts from  other  lands?  This  is  true  of  forestry,  too.  How  are  you  going 
to  place  a  limitation  upon  the  right  of  the  citizen  who  owns  a  forest  tract 
to  convert  it  into  useful  products?  I  have  not  read  the  decisions  referred 
to  by  the  President,  and  I  am  not  raising  these  objections  now  as  repre- 
senting my  own  view;  they  are  submitted  as  interrogation  points  touching 
matters  on  which  I  should  like  to  carry  away  more  definite  information. 
The  right  of  ownership  in  property,  the  individual  right  of  ownership,  has 
value  only  as  the  owner  may  use  it.  I  should  like,  too,  to  know  more 
about  the  proposition  of  national  reservations  in  the  Appalachian  moun- 
tains and  elsewhere.  I  should  like  this  information  from  men  in  author- 
ity, men  who  have  given  these  questions  close  study  and  who  mav  speak 

(215) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


with  benefit  to  those  who  hear.  What  I  mean,  Gentlemen,  is  this:  The 
People  do  not  now  realize  the  necessity  for  the  conservation  of  these 
resources  of  ours,  nor  do  they  understand  how  it  is  to  be  done;  and  the 
school  established  must  be  a  kindergarten  school.  And  as  a  student  in 
that  school  I  should  like  to  hear  more  on  these  questions;  I  should  like 
answer  to  the  questions  that  I  have  raised  in  these  few  remarks.  If  you 
will  give  me  the  information  in  concrete  form  that  I  may  carry  back  to 
mv  People  and  give  to  them,  you  will  do  more  in  behalf  of  the  cause  we 
have  at  heart  than  any  amount  of  oratory  can  possibly  do.     [Applause] 

I  thank  you,  Gentlemen,  and  say  in  conclusion  that  I  am  in  full  sym- 
pathy with  the  purposes  of  this  Conference.     [Applause] 


The  President:  Governor  Willson  is  recognized. 

Address  by  Augustus  E.  Willson 

GOVERNOR   OF   KENTUCKY 

Mr  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Conference: 

Kentucky  has  perhaps  a  greater  interest  in  waterways  [laughter]  than 
any  other  State  in  the  Union  in  proportion  to  its  territory;  [laughter] 
and  let  me  deprecate  the  thought  that  may  have  come  to  some  of  my 
brothers  that  I  am  going  to  speak  as  a  special  authority  on  the  subject 
of  irrigation.  [Laughter]  We  have,  however,  nearly  40,000  square  miles 
of  territory,  1,500  miles  of  river,  and  a  great  deal  more  of  Governor 
Comer's  Tennessee  river  than  he  has  in  Alabama;  we  have  the  Cumber- 
land of  Kentucky,  the  Licking,  the  Big  Sandy,  and  one  of  vast  political 
significance,  Salt  river.     [Laughter] 

I  merely  wish  to  bring  to  the  attention  of  the  Conference  a  matter  that 
seems  to  me  useful.  The  oratorical  product  of  Kentucky  ended  some 
rs  ago,  and  we  are  now  studying  the  strictly  utilitarian  phases  of  life. 
We  have  in  Kentucky  many  important  coal  companies.  One  of  those 
has  been  managed  in  a  manner  that,  I  think,  in  its  business  management 
and  in  its  own  foresight  presents  a  lesson  of  usefulness  to  every  State. 
It  was  mentioned  here  that  in  the  production  of  coal  it  cost  about  seven 
lives  for  every  million  of  tons.  This  company,  in  ten  years,  has  produced 
1,100,000  tons,  with  only  one  life  lost.  [Applause]  This  company  bought 
great  anas  of  land.  A  State  Commissioner  of  a  ,-reat  State  mentioned 
that  they  had  planted  a  million  young  trees;  this  one  company  has  alone 
planted  on  its  land  illion  walnut  trees  and  about  a  quarter  of  a 

million  locust,  catalpa,  and  poplar  or  tulip  trees  in  the  past  few  years. 

[6) 


Address  by  Governor  Willson 


[Applause]  This  information  is  from  a  paper,  which  I  shall  submit  by 
Mr  John  B.  Atkinson,  one  of  my  associates  and  advisors  here,  and  a  very 
useful  one,  who  perhaps  gave  me  the  only  good  thought  that  Kentucky 
could  bring  here;  and  I  shall  submit  his  paper  to  the  Secretary  for  incor- 
poration into  the  record.  This  company  that  I  refer  to  is  to  continue 
planting  trees  in  a  systematic  and  earnest  way,  and  it  seemed  to  me  that 
this  was  possibly  a  useful  suggestion  that  could  be  carried  home  from 
here  with  benefit  to  all  of  us. 

I  wish  to  say  one  word  of  our  Conference,  as  friends  together  There 
is  not  a  man  here  that  has  not  felt  from  his  very  heart  the  appreciation  of 
that  broad-minded  public  spirit  which  prompted  the  invitation,  and 
which  every  man  here  appreciates  with  deep  sincerity  and  earnestness 
[Applause]  There  is  not  a  man  here,  either  Governor  or  advisor  who 
will  not  go  away  from  here  a  good  deal  better  man  than  he  came  '  [Ap- 
plause and  cries  of  "Good"]     No,  not  one  of  them 

In  our  affairs  of  life,  part  is  regulated  by  Constitution  and  law,  but 
much  the  greater  part  by  reason  and  moral  influence.  Once  or  twice  we 
have  been  in  danger  of  taking  our  power  here,  our  legal  power,  too  seri- 
ously. This  Conference  has  not  a  shred  of  legal  power  as  a  body,  what- 
ever some  individual  members  may  have  of  legal  power.  As  a  Conference 
this  Conference  rests  on  the  power  of  reason  and  moral  suasion  [Ap- 
plause] It  has  no  legal  authority,  and  yet  it  may  be  in  its  final  result 
and  in  its  constant  usefulness  from  year  to  year  quite  as  valuable  as  a 
body  based  on  constitutional  or  statutory  power. 

I  speak  of  the  good  this  meeting  has  done  us.     Coming  from  Kentuckv 
and  reading  about  other  Governors,  I  had  an  impression  of  one  of  our 
brothers  as  a  man  impatient  of  ordinary  considerations,  and  came  here 
to  share  the  feeling  that  every  one  of  you  has  of  him  as  of  a  big-hearted 
real  Amencan  whom  we  are  all  glad  to  know,  and  all  glad  to  be  with-  our 
brother  from  North  Carolina  [applause];  and  I   thank  him  [Governor 
Glenn]  for  bringing  to  this  assembly  the  thought  that  came  to  my  mind 
some  years  ago  at  a  meeting  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  where  it  fell 
to  my  good  fortune,  when  I  was  only  a  "tin  soldier"  in  that  conference 
with  good  soldiers,  to  respond  to  the  toast  to  the  President,  soon  after 
our  President  took  his  seat;  and  it  seemed  to  me  one  of  the  truest  things 
that  had  ever  come  to  me  was  that  while  we  praised  the  virtue  of  loyalty 
and  all  mankind  from  earliest  history  has  praised  the  virtue  of  loyalty- 
even  in  monarchies,  where  the  ruler  comes  not  by  choice  of  the  People 
poets  and  orators  have  praised  loyalty  to  them-yet  if  there  was  ever  a 
people  on  earth  that  ought  to  be  loyal  to  the  one  Administration  after 
another  as  they  succeed  year  after  year,  it  ought  to  be  these  United 
States  of  America.     [Great  applause]     For  in  all  the  line  of  Presidents 
from  George  Washington  till  now,  we  have  never  had  a  man  that  has  not 

(217) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

been  an  American  Gentleman,  entitled  to  the  loyal  support,  the  affection 
and  help,  of  all  of  his  People.  [Applause]  And  it  is  easy  to  be  a  loyal 
American,  loyal  not  only  to  the  spirit  of  our  country,  to  the  spirit  of 
brotherhood  and  neighborhood  friendship,  but  loyal  to  the  constituted 
authorities  of  the  Nation  and  of  every  State.  We  have  a  right  to  be 
that.     [Applause] 

I  thank  you  very  earnestly.  I  thank  you  for  your  patient  hearing, 
and  I  am  very  glad  to  have  this  opportunity.  I  wish  to  say  just  one 
word  as  a  member  of  the  committee  that  was  appointed  last  night. 
After  the  session  of  yesterday  afternoon  we  asked  that  the  Governors 
should  stay  after  the  meeting.  It  was  the  outgrowth  of  the  feeling  all 
of  us  had  that  it  was  such  a  good  thing  to  be  together — a  feeling  that  was 
uppermost  in  the  heart  of  every  man  here.  Only  a  small  number  stayed, 
and  a  committee  was  appointed  looking  to  future  meetings.  Of  course 
it  will  be  desirable  to  have  as  many  future  meetings  in  Washington  as 
possible.  Perhaps  the  accepting  of  State  hospitality  would  let  down  this 
standard  and  let  down  the  interest.  I  should  be  very  glad  if  after  this 
meeting  the  Governors  would  stay  and  talk  about  this  matter.  It  would 
be  greatly  to  our  advantage  to  have  an  invitation  from  the  President, 
but  it  might  be  possible,  and  all  of  us  might  get  great  use  from  an  asso- 
ciation of  the  Governors,  not  at  all  legal  or  constitutional  or  statutory, 
but  merely  an  association  of  the  Governors  so  that  we  can  get  to  know 
each  other.  There  are  many  matters  in  which  a  new  Governor  at  least, 
like  myself,  feels  he  needs  counsel  and  help  about  from  other  Governors — 
matters  of  extradition,  matters  of  general  public  policy,  matters  to  decide 
what  one  should  do  in  certain  emergencies  that  come  to  all  of  us.  I  have 
four  years  ahead  of  me,  and  I  feel  that  I  needed  this  Conference;  and  I 
feel  glad  that  I  am  here,  and  am  glad  that  I  have  had  the  opportunity 
of  meeting  the  Governors.     I  thank  you  sincerely.    [Great  applause] 


The  President:  Gentlemen  are  looking  toward  Governor  Hoch.    Will 
Governor  I  loch  take  the  platform? 

Address  by  Edward  W.  Hoch 

GOVERNOR    OP    KANSAS 

Mr  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Conference: 

I  shall  detain  you  but   a   moment.     A  native  myself  of  Kentucky,  I 
share  with  the  Governor  of  that  great  Commonwealth,  who  has  just  left 

the  platform,  his  interest,  in  waterways;    and  my  interest  in  waterways, 

(218) 


Address  by  Governor  Hoch 


and  also  in  the  ways  of  water,  is  intensified  because  I  happen  to  preside 
over  a  prohibition  State.     [Applause] 

Like  my  brother,  Governor  Hanly  of  Indiana,  I  have  taken  small  part 
in  the  deliberations  of  this  great  Conference,  because  I  have  preferred  to 
be  enriched  by  the  wisdom  of  the  experts,  wisely  selected  by  our  Presi- 
dent to  discuss  these  great  problems,  rather  than  to  impoverish  you  by 
consuming  your  time.  I  can  appropriate  the  sentiment  of  the  great 
McKinley,  who  said  on  a  great  occasion,  "  I  have  no  knowledge  not  com- 
mon to  my  countrymen."  I  am  not  an  expert  on  any  of  these  specific 
problems  we  have  been  here  discussing,  but  I  have  an  abiding  interest 
in  the  great  country  in  which  we  live,  and  I  have  an  especial  interest  in 
and  some  little  knowledge  of  the  People  of  the  great  State  I  have  the 
honor  of  representing  on  this  floor. 

Kansas  is  not  primarily  interested  in  any  of  these  specific  problems, 
and  yet  we  are  indirectly  and  mightily  interested  in  all  of  them.  We 
have  no  denuded  forests  to  restore,  but  we  need  lumber,  and  we  want 
our  national  forests  preserved  and  restored.  We  have  no  great  navigable 
rivers  to  improve,  but  we  are  immensely  interested  in  the  transportation 
problem,  because  no  similar  number  of  people  perhaps  are  greater  shippers. 
But  our  indirect  interest  in  all  the  things  discussed  here  only  emphasizes 
the  mutuality  of  interest  of  all  the  States  in  each  other. 

The  thing  that  I  shall  carry  away  from  here  more  than  any  other  one 
thing  is  the  universality  of  our  common  interests  in  this  countrv.  I 
shall  carry  with  me  these  documents,  the  papers  read  here,  rich  in  in- 
formation; and  I  pause  to  say  that  in  my  judgment  the  printing  depart- 
ment of  this  nation  has  never  sent  out  a  more  valuable  document  than 
will  be  enclosed  between  the  two  covers  of  the  great  book  which  will  con- 
tain the  proceedings  of  this  Conference.  But  while  I  shall  carry  these 
valuable  things  in  my  arms  I  shall  carry  a  more  valuable  thing  home 
with  me  in  my  heart,  the  thought  of  the  mutuality  of  our  common  in- 
terests. 

If  you  will  glance  at  the  map  there  on  the  wall  you  will  observe, 
with  reference  to  the  State  of  Kansas,  that  if  a  line  be  drawn  north  and 
south  and  east  and  west  across  that  map  those  lines  will  intersect  in  the 
very  heart  of  Kansas.  Kansas  is  neither  northern  nor  southern,  neither 
eastern  nor  western.  It  is  the  great  central  State,  the  hub  of  the  Union, 
if  you  please.  [Laughter  and  applause]  As  I  have  elsewhere  expressed 
it,  it  is  the  rich,  juicy  meat  in  the  national  sandwich.  [Laughter]  But 
let  me  repeat  that  the  great  fact  which  stands  out  in  this  Conference 
like  a  promontory,  is  the  fact  of  the  mutuality  of  interests  between  the 
States.  There  is  in  the  best  of  all  books,  with  the  contents  of  which,  of 
course,  the  distinguished  Presiding  Officer  here  and  all  the  Governors  are 
familiar,  a  beautiful  simile  which  I  wish  to  appropriate  to  adorn  my 

(219) 
56254—09 17 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

thought.  It  is  said  in  the  Bible  that  the  hands  can  not  say  to  the  feet, 
We  have  no  need  of  thee,  and  the  eyes  can  not  say  to  the  ears,  We  have 
no  need  of  thee,  nor  can  any  one  member  of  the  body  say  to  another,  I 
have  no  need  of  thee.  And  so,  borrowing  this  beautiful  figure,  J  say  to 
you — and  I  shall  carry  that  impression  home  with  me  more  perhaps  than 
any  other  one — no  one  State  can  say  to  another,  We  have  no  need  of  thee. 
California  can  not  say  to  Florida,  We  have  no  need  of  thee,  and  Maine 
can  not  say  to  Texas,  We  have  no  need  of  thee.  Kansas  can  not  say  to 
any  other  State,  We  have  no  need  of  thee.  We  are  mutually  interested; 
and  tms  great  Conference  has  cemented  this  Union,  I  think,  as  no  other 
combination  has  ever  done  before.     [Great  applause] 

Gentlemen,  it  was  worth  coming  fifteen  hundred  miles  to  see  the  two 
distinguished  representatives  of  the  two  great  parties  in  this  country 
(Mr  Roosevelt  and  Mr  Bryan)  meet  upon  a  common  platform  and  shake 
hands  over  the  expression  of  a  common  principle.  [Great  applause] 
How  true  it  is  that  as  American  citizens,  regardless  of  party,  we  have 
more  in  concord  than  we  have  in  conflict.  [Applause]  I  shall  be  glad 
to  carry  this  spirit  of  mutuality,1  of  fraternity,  home  with  me;  and  I 
believe  I  voice  the  sentiment  of  every  one  who  hears  me  when  I  say  we 
shall  go  to  our  homes  more  profoundly  realizing  than  ever  before  that 
we  have  indeed  one  country,  no  North,  no  South,  no  East,  no  West,  but 
one  glorious  land  of  the  free.     [Great  applause] 


The  President:  Governor  Sheldon  is  recognized. 
Address  ey  George  L.  Sheldon 

GOVERNOR   OF   NEBRASKA 

Mr  President,  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Conference: 

I  do  not  expect  to  add  anything  at  this  time  to  the  words  of  wisdom 
that  we  have  been  listening  to  for  the  last  three  days.  I  simply  wish  to 
express  the  appreciation  of  the  People  of  my  State  that  the  People  of  this 
country  have  at  last  become  aroused  to  the  necessity  of  conserving  those 
national  resources  of  the  country  which  in  the  past,  to  the  shame  of  the 
States  and  the  Nation,  they  have  permitted  to  be  wastefully  exploited, 
for  the  benefit  of  the  few  in  many  instances,  instead  of  for  the  benefit  of 
the  whole  People.     [Applause] 

So  far  as  Nebraska  is  concerned,  she  has  been  carrying  on  in  her  own 
way  whatever  could  be  done  to  prevent  these-  things.  We  burned  cow 
chips  out  there  for  years  and  saved  coal.     We  are  now  building  bridges 

(220) 


Address  by  Governor  Sheldon 


and  other  structures  of  concrete  for  the  benefit  of  Carnegie  and  his  iron 
companies. 

But  after  all,  this  question,  it  seems  to  me,  is  an  educational  one.  The 
purpose  of  this  Conference,  in  some  degree,  has  been  accomplished  if  it 
has  aroused  the  People  of  this  country  to  the  necessity  of  so  developing 
and  preserving  their  resources  that  future  generations  may  have  the 
benefit  that  is  due  them.  [Applause]  I  would  like  to  see  the  States  of 
this  Nation  assist  the  United  States  Government  more  than  they  have 
in  the  past.  I  want  to  say  that  in  my  opinion  there  is  no  work  of  the 
National  Government  that  is  bringing  greater  benefit  to  the  People  of 
this  Nation  as  a  whole  than  the  agricultural  work  that  is  being  done  by 
the  Agricultural  Department,  and  by  the  numerous  agricultural  experi- 
ment stations.     [Applause] 

Let  me  give  one  illustration:  In  Lancaster  county,  Nebraska,  the  aver- 
age yield  of  corn  for  the  last  five  years,  I  have  been  informed,  has  been  35 
bushels  to  the  acre.  Yet  the  corn  raised  under  the  direction  of  the  agri- 
cultural experiment  station  located  in  that  county  for  the  last  five  years, 
under  the  same  conditions  and  the  same  circumstances,  has  been  76 
bushels  to  the  acre.     [Applause] 

The  People  of  Nebraska  will  do  whatever  they  can  to  help  themselves 
and  to  help  the  People  of  the  country  solve  this  great  question.     All 
realize,  as  do  you,  that  it  will  not  be  settled  here,  but  that  it  will  be  settled 
at  the  fireside  of  the  American  homes.     The  American  People  are  a  busy 
people,  but  when  their  attention  is  directed  to  a  question  that  vitally 
affects  them,  and  they  study  it  and  think  it  over  in  their  homes,  they  will 
solve  it;  and  their  answer  will  be  the  right  and  proper  one.     [Applause] 
Much  has  been  said  of  forestry,  and  I  concur  and  agree  with  what  has 
been  said  in  that  line.     I  wish,  however,  to  call  attention  to  the  work 
that  Nebraska  has  been  doing  for  years  in  persuading  people  to  plant 
trees;  and  I  must  refer,  in  this  connection,  to  the  distinguished  services 
of  a  distinguished  son  of  Nebraska,  the  Honorable  J.  Sterling  Morton 
[Applause] 

I  regret  exceedingly,  Mr.  President,  that  I  could  not  be  present  at  the 
dinner  and  the  opening  of  this  Conference.  I  was  not  present  because 
I  felt  obliged  to  carry  the  greetings  of  my  State  to  the  Navy  of  our 
Nation  when  it  arrived  on  our  western  coast.  And  as  I  came  across  the 
Continent  to  be  present  at  this  Conference,  I  saw  a  sight  in  California 
that  presents  a  good  object  lesson.  I  may,  perhaps,  be  pardoned  for 
taking  the  time  to  give  you  the  picture  briefly. 

We  left  the  Pacific  Coast  last  Saturday,  and  that  evening  crossed  the 
Sierra  Nevada  Mountains.  In  the  valley  of  the  Sacramento  we  saw 
palm  and  orange  trees.  The  hillsides  were  planted  with  fruit  trees. 
All  kinds  of  vegetation  was  growing  luxuriantly.     Flowers  were  in  bloom. 

(221) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

We  wended  our  way  up  the  valley  of  American  river.  A  steady  stream 
of  water  was  flowing.  It  was  an  abundant,  steady  flow,  and  we  saw 
where  it  had  given  life  to  the  valley,  which  otherwise  would  have  been 
barren.  When  we  reached  the  summit  one  could  see  the  cause  and  the 
reason  of  the  ceaseless  flow.  On  the  top  of  those  beautiful  peaks,  clad 
with  fir  and  spruce,  the  snow  was  held  in  the  clefts  of  the  rocks  under 
the  shade  of  the  trees.  The  slow  melting  of  the  snow  made  the  water 
flow  ever  onward  and  onward  in  an  even  volume,  that  the  most  use 
might  be  made  of  it  for  the  benefit  of  vegetable  life.  This  picture  is 
illustrative  of  what  we  have  heard  so  much  during  this  Conference. 
The  planting  of  trees  on  the  denuded  hills  and  mountains  means  much 
to  us  as  a  nation. 

I  wish  one  question  had  been  more  discussed,  and  that  is,  how  we  are  to 
preserve  in  the  future  the  natural  resources  of  our  country  so  that  they 
may  be  used  for  the  benefit  of  all  rather  than  exploited  for  the  benefit  of 
the  few;  and  I  hope  and  trust  that  the  good  work  of  taking  back  and 
restoring  to  the  People  those  resources  which  have  been  fraudulently 
taken  from  them  will  continue. 

There  has  been  much  said  here  about  the  duty  of  the  States  to  the 
Nation,  but  I  would  like  to  call  the  attention  of  the  Conference  to  the  fact 
that  there  is  much  to  do  on  the  part  of  individual  citizens  in  this  great 
work,  and  when  the  State  and  the  Nation  blaze  the  way  and  point  out 
the  path  we,  as  American  citizens,  still  have  much  to  do  ourselves;  there 
is  work  for  us  all,  and  we  should  not  look  entirely  to  the  States  and 
Nation  to  do  the  work  for  us.     [Applause] 

Gentlemen,  I  do  not  wish  to  trespass  longer  upon  your  time.  I  want 
to  express  my  appreciation,  as  the  other  Governors  have,  of  the  privilege 
of  being  here.  It  is  a  fine  thing  for  the  Governors  to  have  the  opportunity 
of  meeting,  of  becoming  better  acquainted  with  one  another,  and  dis- 
cussing the  problems  of  the  Nation. 

I  thank  you,  Mr  President,  for  this  opportunity  to  express  my  appre- 
ciation at  being  present  at  this  Conference.  In  closing,  I  will  say  that 
Nebraska,  the  State  which  has  less  illiteracy  than  any  other  State  in 
the  Union,  will  endeavor  to  do  her  part.     [Applause] 


The  PRESIDENT:  I  have  been  asked  on  behalf  of  the  National  Rivers 
and  Harbors  Congress,  which  will  hold  its  Fifth  Annual  convention  here 
December  9    [I,  next,  to  invite  the  members  of  the  Conference  to  attend. 

Mr  Holland,  of  Texas:  Mr  President,  our  Governor  was  not  able  to 
be  pr<  < m  on  this  occa  ion;  but,  Mr  President,  the  Lieutenant-Governor 
of  'I  I  am  sure  we  would  like  to  hear  from  Lieutenant- 

ernor  Davidson.     [Applause] 

(222) 


Address  by  Lieutenant-Governor  Davidson 


Address  by  A.  B.  Davidson 

LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR   OF  TEXAS 

Mr  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Conference: 

I  presume  the  time  has  now  about  been  reached  when  Lieutenant- 
Governors  may  be  heard  from.  I  will  therefore  detain  the  Conference  a 
few  moments,  but  only  a  few  moments,  as  I  understand  Lieutenant- 
Governors  are  expected  on  all  occasions  to  do. 

I  understand  the  purpose  of  this  Conference  is  one  of  education ;  and 
if  some  gentleman  will  hand  me  a  cane,  I  will  be  able  to  illustrate  some 
facts  on  this  map.     [A  cane  was  passed  to  the  speaker] 

Now,  Mr  President,  I  have  a  big  stick.  [Laughter]  I  use  the  big 
stick  at  home  when  the  Legislature  is  in  session,  and  I  hope  I  may  have 
your  permission  and  consent  to  use  it  here  for  a  while. 

The  President:  Certainly. 

Lieutenant-Governor  Davidson:  Gentlemen,  I  would  like  to  illustrate 
on  this  map  one  or  two  conditions  that  confront  our  entire  territory  in 
[pointing]  the  upper  Panhandle  section  of  the  States  of  Texas,  New  Mexico, 
and  Colorado.  I  would  like  to  call  your  attention  to  the  necessity  of 
irrigation  in  that  section,  not  only  in  our  own  State  but  in  the  other 
territory  lying  north  and  northwest  of  it,  and  show  you,  if  I  can,  what 
might  be  accomplished  by  damming  and  filling  the  canyons  of  this 
section.  Those  of  you  that  follow  me  will  see  that  the  trend  of  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  after  leaving  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  river,  circles  around 
to  the  coast  of  Texas  and  then  turns  southward  again  along  the  Gulf 
front  of  the  Republic  of  Mexico,  down  by  Tampico  and  Vera  Cruz.  The 
trend  of  the  winds  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  is  over  Louisiana  and  about 
two-thirds  of  the  State  of  Texas;  these  winds  are  almost  constant  over 
the  sections  indicated,  and  they  are  almost  constant  in  the  same  direc- 
tion— that  is,  from  southeast  to  northwest  over  the  upper  portion  of 
Texas,  New  Mexico,  Colorado,  and  Arizona. 

An  examination  of  the  direction  in  which  the  Gulf  coast  turns  after 
reaching  the  Mexican  Republic  will  show  that  the  south  wind,  that 
possibly  furnishes  the  moisture  from  the  Gulf  coast  country  to  the 
greater  portion  of  Texas,  Louisiana,  Indian  Territory,  New  Mexico  and 
Arkansas,  does  not,  when  it  reaches  the  neighborhood  of  the  99th  merid- 
ian, originate  or  come  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  but  comes  from  the 
dry,  mountainous  country  of  the  Republic  of  Mexico;  so  that  possibly 
from  this,  that  section  of  our  State  lying  west  of  this  meridian,  together 
with  Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  is  now  and  always  will  be  what  is  known 
as  the  dry  belt  of  the  Union.     Of  course  it  has  a  certain  amount  of  rain- 

(223) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

fall,  but  not  to  the  extent  that  that  territory  lying  east  of  this  meridian 
has,  and  not  sufficient  for  agricultural  purposes.  This  dry  section  is 
magnificent  country,  the  greater  portion  of  it  rich  in  soil  and  adapted 
to  the  cultivation  of  corn,  cotton,  wheat,  and  almost  every  variety  of 
farming  products  known  to  the  Union.  At  least  this  section  is  dry,  and 
as  that  lying  east  of  the  99th  meridian  has  an  abundance  of  rain,  certainly 
the  natural  conditions  indicated  must  have  something  to  do  with  the 
dryness  of  that  lying  west  of  it. 

The  Governor  of  Alabama  has  just  said  that  Alabama  has  more  water 
and  less  channels  than  possibly  any  other  State  in  the  Union,  but  I  want 
to  say  that  Texas  has  possibly  more  channels  and  less  water  than  any 
State  in  the  Union,  and  that  the  channels  lie  largely  in  the  dry  section 
that  I  have  just  referred  to.  Immense  channels  are  cut  by  the  waters 
of  the  Guadalupe,  Colorado,  Brazos,  and  Red  rivers  as  they  come  out 
of  the  higher  plains  of  the  Panhandle  section  of  the  State  of  Texas; 
immense  quantities  of  water  can  easily  be  obtained  for  irrigation  pur- 
poses at  comparative  little  cost  if  these  channels  are  locked  and  dammed, 
and  reservoirs  created  in  that  way. 

We  can  not  under  the  Constitution  of  the  State  of  Texas,  and  possibly 
will  never  be  able  by  the  adoption  of  a  Constitutional  amendment,  use 
the  State  funds  to  build  these  dams  and  reservoirs  in  the  section  indi- 
cated ;  but  if  the  Federal  Government  has  the  power  and  should  indicate 
an  inclination  to  use  its  resources  to  the  end  that  irrigation  might  be 
encouraged  and  supported  in  that  section  by  the  building  of  these  reser- 
voirs and  dams,  I  want  to  say,  Mr  President,  that  so  far  as  the  State  of 
Texas  is  concerned,  it  will  be  ready  and  willing  to  act  with  the  Federal 
Government  under  such  conditions  as  will  protect  its  own  rights,  but  at 
the  same  time  permit  the  work  to  be  done. 

Again,  Mr  President,  most  of  the  streams  east  of  the  99th  meridian 
are  navigable  for  many  hundred  miles  in  the  interior  of  the  State,  requiring 
but  little  improvement;  Red  river  is  navigable  for  many  hundreds  of 
miles,  the  Trinity  to  Dallas,  the  Brazos  to  Waco,  the  Colorado  possibly 
to  Austin,  and  the  Guadalupe  certainly  to  Cuero,  Texas;  and  by  locking 
and  damming  these  streams  they  could  be  made  navigable,  as  above 
staled ,  and  a  vast  water  supply  would  be  furnished  that  territory,  as 
well  as  power  that  could  be  and  would  be  used  for  manufacturing 
purposi 

The  Federal  Government  can  alone  improve  these  rivers  and  control 
the-  navigation  of  them.  Incident  to  this  improvement,  there  would  be 
water  power  created  that  would  manufacture,  if  properly  utilized,  all  of 
the  cotton  products  of  the  State  of  Texas.  For  instance,  if  we  take 
Guadalupe  river  alone,  tlnn  would  be  developed  enough  power  to  manu- 
facture every  bale  of  cotton  raised  in  the  watershed  or  basin  of  that 

(224) 


Address  by  Lieutenant-Governor  Davidson 


river.  I  do  not  believe  I  am  exaggerating  when  I  say  that  the  valleys  of 
the  Guadalupe  raise  an  average  of  300,000  bales  of  cotton  every  year. 
The  National  Government  could  control,  if  it  saw  fit,  the  navigation  of 
these  streams,  and  the  State  could  reserve  the  right  to  regulate  the  power 
and  manufacturing  establishments  that  might  be  developed  along  their 
course. 

We  have  the  power  to  control  corporations,  and  we  have  the  power  to 
control  individuals;  and  manufacturing  plants  that  may  be  built  up 
would  be  under  our  control,  and  the  navigation  would  be  under  the 
control  of  the  Federal  Government.  The  two  can  harmoniously  work 
together,  and  we  in  Texas  are  ready  to  act. 

The  Guadalupe  river  in  our  State  is  the  most  splendid  stream  within 
its  border  and  has  a  great  water  supply,  and  its  water  supply  is  constant 
and  never-failing.  If  there  is  anything  in  the  theory  that  building  of 
locks  and  dams  and  the  gathering  together  of  large  water  supplies  would 
aid  the  insufficient  rainfall  in  this  territory,  then  this  stream  presents,  so 
far  as  we  are  concerned,  a  most  desirable  condition  for  experimental 
purposes.  It  is  farthest  south  of  any  stream  in  Texas;  and,  as  I  have 
before  explained,  to  the  northward  the  evaporation  from  it  would  add 
to  the  rainfall  wherever  and  whatever  such  conditions  do,  or  would,  add 
to  aid  the  rainfall. 

If  the  Federal  Government  wants  to  build  these  locks  and  dams,  let 
it  indicate  its  willingness,  for  the  streams  are  not  worth  anything  as 
they  are. 

Mr  President,  if  you  can  by  this  Conference  solve  these  difficulties  and 
make  the  dry  sections  productive  as  the  other  sections  are  in  our  State, 
we  will  put  into  cultivation  three  times  the  amount  of  cultivated  land 
that  there  is  today.  There  is  very  little  of  it  that  is  not  productive, 
and  if,  Mr  President,  you,  aided  by.  these  conferences,  will  solve  this 
matter  for  us,  I  can  tell  you  that  we  will  furnish  you  cotton  enough  for 
the  people  of  the  world ;  we  will  furnish  you  wheat  enough  for  the  people 
of  this  country;  we  will  furnish  you  with  leather,  for  it  is  a  magnificent 
cattle-raising  section,  and  with  beef  that  will  not  need  any  formaldehyde 
to  preserve  it,  because  it  is  fat  enough  to  preserve  itself.  We  will  add 
to  the  State's  wealth  immensely  and  do  our  part  toward  the  advancement 
of  the  Union  by  making  that  section  as  fertile  as  the  other. 

The  invitation,  Mr  President,  to  attend  this  Conference  has  been 
responded  to  by  almost  all  the  States,  and  I  regret  that  the  Governor  of 
Texas  could  not  be  present.  We  have  been  sending  delegation  after 
delegation  to  Washington  to  encourage  the  opening  of  our  rivers,  and 
we  are  here  again  to  discuss  this  question  of  locking  and  damming  our 
streams  not  only  for  the  purpose  of  navigation  but  to  add  to  the  natural 
resources  of  the  country;  certainly  if  we  manufacture  by  water-power, 

(225) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


and  use  coal  and  oil  only  as  fuel  for  that  class  of  machinery  that  must 
move  from  point  to  point,  like  railways  and  steamships,  it  would  greatly 
aid  i%  protecting  the  combustible  fuels. 

We  are  determined,  Gentlemen,  notwithstanding  we  live  down  in 
that  far  section  of  the  Union,  to  be  here  every  time ;  and  like  the  Governor 
of  Washington  has  said  to  us,  although  we  are  a  long  way  off,  we  are 
in  the  Union,  and  wc  will  send  delegates  here,  or  elsewhere,  whenever 
these  matters  are  to  be  considered,  and  especially  when  together  with 
so  distinguished  a  person  as  the  President  of  the  Union;  and  if  we  can 
get  assistance,  we  are  ready  to  accept  it;  and  if  we  can  build  dams  across 
the  rivers  and  canyons  of  the  upper  section  of  the  State,  the  National 
Government  can  control  these  locks  and  we  will  take  care  of  the  power. 

I  might  suggest  in  the  way  of  an  apology  for  the  Governor's  absence, 
that  we  recently  had  in  Texas,  as  many  of  you  may  know,  a  political 
disturbance,  and  I  reckon  you  are  familiar  with  it.  I  am  glad  you  are 
not  in  it.  The  Governor,  I  think,  is  trying  to  pour  oil  on  the  troubled 
waters  down  there.  [Laughter  and  applause]  WThether  it  will  take  an 
abundance  of  water  to  cleanse  it,  or  whether  it  will  take  an  abundance 
of  oil  to  keep  it  greased,  we  do  not  know;  but  he  could  not  come,  any- 
way. It  may  get  so  hot  that  we  may  have  to  ask  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment to  help  us  cool  off,  [laughter  and  applause]  and  we  may  have  to 
build  a  few  reservoirs  that  we  may  have  water  enough  to  keep  cool. 

Xow,  Mr  President,  in  behalf  of  the  Governor  of  Texas,  and  the 
splendid  citizenship  of  the  State  of  Texas,  I  beg  to  thank  you  for  the 
invitation  extended  to  us  to  be  present,  and  to  say  to  you  when  the 
business  affairs  and  natural  resources  of  our  State  are  under  discussion, 
we  will  gladly  and  at  any  time  send  representatives  to  any  meeting,  to 
add  what  we  can  to  the  furtherance  of  such  meetings  and  the  final 
successful  solution. 

I  thank  you  very  much  for  the  opportunity  of  addressing  you.  [Ap- 
plause] 

The  PRESIDENT:   Mr  Louden  of  Iowa  is  recognized. 

Address  by  William  Louden 

Mr  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Conference: 

I  have  the  honor  to  represent,  in  part,  the  great  State  of  Iowa,  the 
first  agricultural  State  in  the  Union. 

I  am  sorry  that  Governor  Cummins,  owing  to  sickness  in  his  family, 
could  not  be  present.  I  know  he  would  be  glad  to  meet  the  Governors  of 
the  various  States,  and  to  participate  in  the  discussion  of  the  questions 
before    the    Conference.     We    sincerely    regret    his   absence.     President 

(226) 


Address  by  William  Louden 


Storms,  of  the  State  Agricultural  College,  one  of  his  advisors,  was  also 
unable  to  attend.  So  Mr  Earle  and  myself  are  the  only  representatives 
from  Iowa — unless  we  include  Secretary  Wilson,  who  is  big  enough  to 
represent  both  the  State  and  the  Nation.     [Applause] 

In  the  presence  of  so  many  distinguished  men,  perhaps  it  would  be 
better  for  an  ordinary  Conferee  to  listen  and  say  nothing;  and  yet  I  feel 
that  some  one  should  say  a  word  for  Iowa  in  a  national  Conference  of 
such  importance.  I  have  therefore  prepared  a  short  paper  embodying 
some  thoughts  on  the  policy  of  conservation,  practically  considered.  I 
will  not  take  your  time  to  read  it  now,  but  will  simply  give  you  a  synopsis 
and  ask  that  it  be  printed  in  the  published  Proceedings  in  the  following 
form : 

Perhaps  it  might  be  an  exaggeration  to  say  that  the  importance  of 
this  Conference  can  not  be  overestimated,  but  I  wish  to  emphasize  what 
has  already  been  said  on  this  point.  The  American  People  have  been 
rushing  along  at  lightning  speed,  developing  industries  and  consuming 
their  natural  resources  until  the  time  is  at  hand  when  something  effective 
must  be  done  to  prepare  for  the  contingencies  of  the  near  future  if  the 
country  is  to  be  left  intact  for  coming  generations.  Far-seeing  men  have 
been  displaying  danger  signals  for  some  time,  but  we  have  been  too 
busily  engaged  with  the  work  of  the  present  to  pay  attention  to  the 
needs  of  the  future.  Therefore  the  necessity  for  some  extraordinary 
means  to  attract  our  attention  to  approaching  dangers.  This,  I  believe, 
has  been  done  by  this  Conference  in  a  manner  more  marked  than  could 
have  been  done  by  any  other  means.     Hence  its  supreme  importance. 

In  alleging  short-sightedness,  I  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  fram- 
ing an  indictment  against  the  American  people  for  lack  of  intelligence  in 
the  conduct  of  business.  In  the  main,  they  have  acted  naturally,  and, 
to  a  certain  extent,  properly,  and  just  as  any  other  people  would  have 
done  under  similar  circumstances.  Our  ancestors  came  mostly  from 
Europe,  where  the  average  conditions  of  life  were  hard.  There  was 
little  opportunity,  except  for  a  favored  few,  to  accumulate  property 
or  to  do  more  than  merely  make  a  living.  They  found  here  a  land  filled 
to  overflowing  with  natural  resources  of  every  kind,  and  rich  beyond 
compare.  All  they  had  to  do  was  to  reach  forth  and  help  themselves. 
There  was  a  thousand  times  more  than  they  could  use.  Labor  was 
scarce,  and  there  was  but  little  demand  for  surplus  products.  What 
little  demand  there  was  came  mainly  from  abroad,  and  was  mostly  for 
products  to  feed  the  hungry  millions  of  other  lands. 

The  early  settlers  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  other  States  found  timber 
everywhere  which  they  could  neither  use  nor  give  away.  It  encum- 
bered the  ground  so  they  could  not  raise  wheat  to  sell  abroad.  They 
did  what  any  other  people  would  have  done  under  like  conditions.     They 

(227) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

cut  down  the  timber  and  burned  it,  and  sowed  the  land  with  wheat. 
Today  the  timber  would  be  worth  fifty  times  the  price  of  the  land; 
but  they  did  not  see  it  then,  and  if  they  had  they  could  not  have  waited 
for  returns.  The  preservation  of  the  soil  was  on  a  par  with  the  saving 
of  the  timber.  The  original  Government  price  for  the  best  of  land  was 
Si. 25  per  acre,  and  later  it  declined  to  the  cost  of  a  homestead  entry. 
Millions  of  acres  were  given  away  for  the  building  of  railroads  to  induce 
the  settlement  of  the  remaining  land.  In  many  of  the  older  settled 
sections,  a  whole  acre  of  improved  land  was  scarcely  worth  a  month's 
wages,  while  in  some  of  the  newer  parts  a  week's  wages  would  buy  it. 
Under  such  conditions  it  did  not  pay  to  devote  labor  to  the  preservation 
of  the  soil.     And  so  it  was  with  all  our  other  resources. 

As  the  country  developed  the  general  trend  of  procedure  was  changed 
only  to  a  slight  degree.  Machinery  was  invented  to  supplement  labor, 
and  business  operations  of  all  kinds  were  extended  and  enlarged  to  an 
extent  never  before  known.  This  was  necessary  to  make  the  use  of 
machinery  more  profitable,  and  to  enable  the  operator  to  extract  the 
largest  amount  possible  from  the  natural  resources  in  the  shortest  pos- 
sible time.  There  was  neither  time  nor  inclination,  nor  apparently  any 
necessity,  to  consider  the  conservation  of  resources.  In  fact,  it  was  the 
direct  antithesis  of  conservation.  It  was  a  period  of  exploitation  which 
had  to  run  its  course. 

It  was  only  in  recent  years  that  conditions  became  suitable  to  call 
attention  to  the  policy  of  conservation;  and  even  yet,  from  a  strictly 
economic  standpoint,  there  are  many  obstacles  in  the  way,  notwith- 
standing its  supreme  importance  to  the  future.  Labor  is  too  scarce  and 
high  in  comparison  with  the  price  of  land  and  of  commodities  to  do 
many  of  the  things  which  are  done  to  advantage  in  Europe.  In  addition 
to  this,  the  American  People,  during  their  exploitations  of  the  last  hun- 
dred years,  and  especially  the  last  fifty  years,  have  contracted  many 
habits  which  will  have  to  be  changed  before  a  policy  of  conservation 
can  become  a  marked  success.  We  are  now  in  the  heyday  of  a  material 
prosperity  greater  and  more  bewildering  than  was  ever  before  experi- 
enced by  any  people  in  the  history  of  the  world.  We  have  been  taught 
that  the  highest  ambition  in  life  is  to  make  the  most  of  our  opportu- 
nities, and  this  we  have  interpreted  to  mean  the  getting  of  all  we  possibly 
can  out  of  tin  present  without  paying  much  if  any  attention  to  the 
interests  of  the  future.  Having  succeeded  so  well  in  the  past,  we  have 
naturally  acquired  an  abundant  confidence  in  our  ability  to  overcome 
all  obstacles,  and  therefore  do  not  anticipate  anything  in  the  future 
which  we  can  not  master. 

All  of  these  things,  and  many  more,  operate  more  or  less  against  a 
policy  of  conservation  and  will  have  to  be  overcome  or  modified  before 

(228) 


Address  by  William  Louden 


it  can  be  successfully  put  in  operation.  How  this  can  be  done  is  the 
great  question  to  be  solved  by  the  American  People.  It  will  be  no  small 
task  to  change  the  habits  of  a  lifetime  of  extravagance  and  waste  to 
those  of  economy  and  saving;  especially  when  the  economy  and  saving 
are  mostly  in  the  interests  of  the  future.  It  will  be  difficult  to  substi- 
tute the  business  methods  necessary  in  a  policy  of  conservation  for  those 
which  have  been  developed  under  the  conditions  of  a  superabundance  of 
natural  resources.  Economic  considerations  alone  will  never  do  it;  at 
least,  not  until  compelled  by  the  stern  hand  of  necessity,  when  irrep- 
arable damage  will  have  been  done.  There  must  be  higher  and  nobler 
motives — motives  altruistic  and  philanthropic  in  their  nature. 

The  policy  of  conservation  must  become  largely  a  patriotic  duty 
instead  of  merely  an  economic  problem.  It  must  be  considered  in  that 
broad  enlightened  spirit  which  can  see  the  highest  good  of  each  in  the 
highest  good  of  all;  that  will  consider  and  safeguard  the  well-being  of 
posterity  as  tenderly  and  thoughtfully  as  it  would  the  well-being  of  the 
babe  in  arms.  If  looked  at  from  a  purely  selfish  standpoint  it  should  be 
that  broader  and  more  far-seeing  selfishness  that  can  discern  the  better 
and  more  essential  things  of  life,  that  can  distinguish  between  the  grosser 
things— the  cheap  and  tawdry  tinsel— and  the  higher  and  nobler  things 
which  constitute  the  true  worth  of  manhood,  that  makes  for  better 
health  of  mind  and  body  and  more  perfect  happiness  for  ourselves  and 
our  posterity.  We  live  and  labor  largely  for  our  children,  but  frequently 
we  bequeath  them  things  which  are  not  the  most  conducive  to  their 
welfare.  We  strive  late  and  early  to  leave  them  a  large  bank  account, 
but  sometimes  it  proves  a  detriment  instead  of  a  blessing.  There  are, 
however,  things  which  will  always  prove  blessings.  Among  these  is 
robust  moral  and  physical  health.  Another  is  a  country  unimpoverished 
by  the  exploitations  of  human  greed,  and  one  in  which  industry,  intelli- 
gence, and  virtue  will  always  count  for  more  than  accumulated  material 
wealth. 

I  mention  these  things  because  I  believe  their  due  consideration  is 
essential  to  a  truly  successful  policy  of  conservation.  Much  may  be 
accomplished  by  legislative  enactments,  either  State  or  National,  or 
both,  in  the  way  of  establishing  forest  reserves,  encouraging  the  planting 
of  trees,  preventing  the  erosion  of  the  soil,  improving  waterways,  regu- 
lating the  disposition  of  sewage,  and  in  many  other  ways.  However, 
as  compared  with  what  can  be  done  by  law,  infinitely  more  can  be  done 
by  the  right  kind  of  education.  In  the  first  place,  the  right  kind  of 
education  is  necessary  to  create  a  public  sentiment  to  enforce  the  law, 
which,  if  enacted  without  a  full  understanding  and  appreciation  of  its 
purpose  and  the  means  needed  to  enforce  it,  will  soon  fall  into  disrepute 
if  it  is  not  repealed.     In  the  next  place,  this  education  will  lead  people 

(229) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


to  do  the  things  which  should  be  done  without  the  compulsion  or  expense 
of  the  law,  and  will  be,  in  itself,  the  most  practical  kind  of  conservation. 
Lack  of  available  knowledge  is  the  greatest  handicap  of  the  human  race, 
and  causes  greater  wastes  than  everything  else  combined.  The  right 
kind  of  education  will  largely  take  the  place  of  penal  statutes,  and  one 
of  the  greatest  and  best  things  which  can  be  done  by  legislative  enact- 
ment is  to  make  ample  provision  for  this  education. 

By  the  right  kind  of  education  I  do  not  mean  the  ordinary  theoretical 
and  speculative  education  which  has  heretofore  obtained  too  largely  in 
our  institutions  of  learning,  but  that  newer  and  better  and  wiser  practical 
education  which  will  enable  all  to  know  and  do  the  things  which  must 
be  known  and  done  aright  every  day  and  hour  to  make  our  lives  truly 
successful,  useful,  and  happy.  The  old-style  higher  education  which 
came  from  the  monarchies  of  the  Old  World  was  never  intended  for  nor 
suited  to  the  needs  of  all  the  people.  Outside  of  what  was  required  by 
the  learned  professions,  it  was  mainly  designed  for  the  nobility,  who  did 
not  have  to  make  a  living  for  themselves.  It  was  too  largely  speculative 
and  legendary.  Its  chief  object  was  to  enable  its  possessors  to  appear 
well  in  society,  to  talk  learnedly  of  things  about  which  they  knew  nothing 
practically,  and  to  boast  well  of  the  reputed  exploits  of  their  ancestors. 

It  never  taught  them  economy  nor  how  to  be  generally  useful,  but 
alwavs  to  spend  and  waste  and  live  on  the  labor  of  others.  Many  of 
the  defects  of  this  old  education  have  crept  into  the  educational  systems 
of  this  country,  and  while  many  improvements  have  been  made  looking 
to  something  more  practical  and  more  suited  to  the  needs  of  the  American 
People,  much  yet  remains  to  make  it  thoroughly  practical  and  up-to- 
date.  In  taking  up  the  question  of  conservation,  nothing  more  effective 
could  be  done  than  to  begin  at  the  foundation — the  schoolhouse— and 
remodel  our  system  of  education  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  people, 
physically  as  well  as  morally  and  materially.  Efforts  in  this  direction 
are  already  being  made,  and  these  efforts  should  be  seconded  in  every 
practical  way. 

vSo  far  as  our  natural  resources  are  concerned,  the  soil  is  by  far  the 
greatest,  if  it  does  not  surpass  all  the  others  combined.  From  it,  and  it 
alone,  we  must  get  our  daily  bread.  In  addition  to  this,  when  our 
deposits  of  coal  and  iron  become  exhausted  it  will  probably  have  to  fur- 
nish the  fuel  and  other  necessities  of  life.  It  is  also  the  most  responsive 
to  proper  treatment  and,  as  affected  by  a  policy  of  conservation,  is  the 
most  promising  <>i~  all  our  resources.  When  coal  or  iron  is  used  once, 
that  is  the  end  of  it .  as  I  here  is  no  known  means  of  renewing  it.  Timber 
mav  be  re-grown  slowly,  but  it  is  so  slow  and  expensive  that,  under 
present  conditions,  there  is  little  or  no  profit  in  it  so  far  as  monetary 
considerations  arc  concerned.      Forests  are  beneficial  to  the  soil  and  the 

o) 


Address  by  William  Louden 


waterways,  and  to  promote  the  health  and  comfort  of  mankind,  and 
therefore  it  should  be  a  religious  duty  for  every  person  to  plant  at 
least  one  tree  every  year.  "The  groves  were  God's  first  temples;"  and 
a  treeless  country  is  but  little  better  than  a  desert.  Especially  should 
nut  and  fruit  trees  be  planted  everywhere. 

All  the  soil  requires  is  proper  treatment,  and  it  will  last  for  all  time 
and  may  even  be  improved  while  it  is  used.  Of  course,  it  will  be  diffi- 
cult if  not  impossible  to  get  our  soil  back  to  the  original  fertility  it  first 
possessed,  but  it  can  easily  be  improved  from  its  present  condition. 
Farms  have  been  worked  for  a  thousand  years  in  Europe  and  Asia,  and 
by  proper  care  have  retained  their  productive  powers.  Barn-yard 
manure  is  the  cheapest,  most  practical,  and  best  of  all  fertilizers.  I 
would  like  to  go  into  this  subject  exhaustively,  but  can  not  spare  the 
time  to  do  so  here.  I  believe  it  would  be  a  valuable  help  if  manufac- 
turers and  business  men  generally  could  be  induced  to  furnish  informa- 
tion in  regard  to  preserving  the  fertility  of  the  soil.  In  this  way  thou- 
sands could  be  reached  and  influenced  for  good  who  could  not  be  reached 
by  bulletins  of  the  Agricultural  Department  or  by  public  documents. 
I  also  desire  to  endorse  the  able  address  on  this  subject  of  Mr  James  J. 
Hill,  the  great  railroad  builder,  financier,  and  student  of  economic  ques- 
tions, which  was  delivered  at  this  Conference. 

One  of  the  most  influential  factors  in  the  present  well-being  of  this 
country  and  in  the  perpetuity  of  our  Government  was  the  550,000,000 
acres  of  virgin  soil  which  were  reduced  to  cultivation  during  the  last 
hundred  years.  This  was  a  safety  valve  to  relieve  any  pressure  of  dis- 
content which  at  certain  times  might  have  developed.  It  was  one  of 
the  greatest  aids  to  the  rapid  and  peaceful  disbandment  of  the  great 
armies  of  the  civil  war,  which  was  the  wonder  of  the  world,  and  it  has 
been  the  great  source  of  our  marvelous  development  of  the  past  century. 
If  there  were  only  500,000,000  more  such  acres  to  add  to  our  available 
resources  during  the  next  hundred  years  the  questions  confronting  us 
today  would  not  be  so  pressing  as  they  are.  We  can  not  much  longer 
take  Horace  Greeley's  advice  to  "Go  west  and  grow  up  with  the  coun- 
try." It  will  not  be  long  until  population  will  begin  to  recoil  upon 
itself,  and  when  that  period  has  developed,  unless  we  are  fully  prepared 
for  it,  the  crucial  test  of  our  institutions  will  come. 

This  subject  is  one  of  incalculable  moment.  How  we  are  to  feed, 
clothe,  and  employ  the  teeming  millions  of  the  next  hundred  years  and 
later  is  a  question  which  may  well  appall  every  lover  of  his  country. 
Do  the  best  we  can,  the  pressure  of  population  will  bear  heavily  upon 
our  resources,  and  we  are  forced  again  to  the  fundamental  questions 
already  touched  upon.  There  are  just  two  things  which  can  be  done: 
One  is  to  conserve  our  natural  resources  in  every  way  possible;  the 

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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


other  is  to  change  the  habits  of  the  people  from  extravagance  and  waste 
to  those  of  economy  and  saving.  Both  things  will  be  necessary  to  solve 
the  problem,  and  the  greatest  and  most  indispensable  factor  in  accom- 
plishing these  results  will  be  right  education. 

Fully  as  much,  if  not  more,  can  be  gained  by  saving  the  wastes  of  life 
as  bv  saving  natural  resources.  For  instance,  it  is  said  on  good  authority 
that  one  acre  will  produce  as  much  food  for  man  in  vegetables,  grains, 
fruits,  etc.,  as  six  acres  will  produce  in  meats.  It  is  a  well-known  opinion 
that  the  American  People  eat  entirely  too  much  meat  for  their  health 
and  physical  well-being.  Recent  tests  at  Yale  by  Professor  Irving 
Fisher  and  others  have  demonstrated  conclusively  that,  under  the  con- 
ditions of  the  experiments,  flesh  abstainers  have  greater  endurance  and 
better  health  than  flesh  consumers.  Fifty  years  ago  the  diet  of  the 
American  People  was  about  50%  of  meats;  now  it  is  said  to  be  from 
30%  to  35%,  and  it  could  still  be  decreased  one-half  or  more  with  great 
benefit  to  the  people  economically  and  probably  from  the  standpoint  of 
health  and  vigor.  As  populations  increase,  this  will  have  to  be  done 
more  and  more. 

It  is  also  claimed  that  dairy  products  are  from  two  to  three  times 
more  economical  than  meat  products,  and  are  more  healthful.  These 
are  subjects  worth  thinking  about,  and  when  we  once  begin  to  study  we 
will  be  surprised  at  the  savings  we  can  effect  in  all  directions.  Look  at 
the  vast  amount  of  the  most  productive  land  in  the  country,  over  800,000 
acres,  which  is  devoted  to  the  raising  of  tobacco,  which  is  held  by  authori- 
ties to  be  a  positive  damage  to  the  race,  the  greatest  damage  being  to 
the  unborn  millions  yet  to  come.  Also,  see  the  colossal  wastes  of  food- 
stuffs in  the  manufacture  of  intoxicating  liquors  which,  in  their  effects, 
are  a  greater  curse  than  war,  famine,  and  pestilence.  This  is  not  all, 
but  it  is  surely  enough  to  open  our  eyes  and  set  us  to  thinking.  I  can 
not  refrain  from  citing  the  closing  remarks  of  President  Roosevelt  on 
national  efficiency.  No  more  prophetic  words  could  be  uttered;  and  in 
my  opinion  the  American  People  can  not  begin  any  too  soon  to  grapple 
with  this  gigantic  problem.  I  believe  the  two  problems  of  conservation 
and  efficiency  are  so  interwoven  and  so  interdependent  in  their  relations 
with  each  other  that  it  will  be  extremely  difficult  if  not  utterly  impos- 
sible to  separate  them  and  solve  them  apart.  I  believe  that  when  we 
come  to  see  all  the  bearings  clearly  we  will  find  that  the  improvident 
and,  if  I  may  use  the  term,  riotous  living  which  has  done  so  much  to 
'1'  iroy  our  natural  resources,  is  doing  far  more  to  destroy  the  vitality 
of  the  race.  History  tells  us  that  it  was  luxurious  living,  the  usual 
accompaniment  of  great  wealth,  which  destroyed  the  great  civilizations 
of  the  past.  If  this  is  true,  then  the  most  vital  problem  before  us  is 
how  to  escape  this  fell  destroyer. 

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Address  by  William  Louden 


The  President  truly  tells  us  that  foresight  is  the  great  essential  in  a 
policy  of  conservation,  but  Professor  Fisher  shows  clearly  that  a  degen- 
erate man  is  devoid  of  foresight;  that  he  is  ever  willing  to  drift  with 
the  tide  and  trust  to  luck  for  the  conditions  of  tomorrow.  Hence  the 
importance  of  preventing  degeneracy,  of  correcting  what  degeneracy 
already  exists,  and  of  bringing  the  race  up  to  the  highest  possible  state 
of  efficiency.  You  can  not  reason  with  a  man  about  any  important 
matter,  especially  if  it  reaches  into  the  future,  when  he  is  intoxicated, 
and  it  makes  little  difference  whether  the  intoxication  is  caused  by 
liquor,  or  by  food  poisoning  in  the  system,  or  is  brought  about  in  any 
other  way.  The  understanding  is  befogged,  the  reason  is  befuddled, 
and  the  man  is  incapable  of  clear  conclusions,  especially  on  matters  of 
wide  importance.  That  is  the  trouble  with  many  people  today,  and  it 
is  one  of  the  most  cogent  reasons  that  can  be  urged  against  the  capacity 
of  the  people,  generally,  for  self-government. 

This  degenerate  condition  must  be  corrected  if  we  are  to  solve  the 
problems  before  us,  or  if  popular  government  itself  is  to  endure.  It 
takes  a  clear  head  and  a  steady  nerve  to  properly  handle  any  great  ques- 
tion, and  while  we  may  rely  to  some  extent  on  leaders,  the  only  safe  way 
is  for  the  great  majority  of  the  people  themselves  to  be  capable  of  the 
most  intelligent  and  far-seeing  judgment.  The  enervating  influences 
which  have  prevailed  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  in  this  country  have 
already  done  incalculable  injury,  and  it  is  high  time  that  the  tide  was 
turned  in  the  right  direction  if  the  Nation  is  to  endure.  The  virility  of 
the  race  is  not  only  to  be  preserved  along  with  our  natural  resources, 
but  it  must  be  increased  many-fold  before  this  country  will  reach  the 
high  estate  in  the  destiny  of  nations  to  which  it  is  entitled,  and  which  is 
demanded  by  the  interests  of  humanity. 

This  is  an  endless  question  and  I  do  not  wish  to  continue  it  too  long. 
I  will  only  add  that  all  means  possible  should  be  used  to  improve  these 
conditions,  and  to  my  mind  one  of  the  most  promising  movements  in 
this  direction  is  the  great  National  Health  League  which  was  recently 
organized,  and  of  which  Professor  Irving  Fisher  of  Yale  is  the  head. 
I  am  fully  convinced  it  is  one  of  the  most  important  movements  ever 
inaugurated  in  this  country.  It  has  the  unreserved  support  of  Presi- 
dent Roosevelt,  who  says  that  he  regards  "our  national  health  as  phys- 
ically our  greatest  asset;"  and  it  should  have  the  active  support  of 
every  citizen.  The  greatest  wastes  sustained  by  the  American  people 
are  on  account  of  sickness  and  disease — the  loss  of  health  and  vigor; 
and  yet  there  is  nothing  to  which  they  devote  so  little  intelligent  thought 
or  care. 

It  is  estimated  that  we  expend  $4,000,000,000  per  annum  on  account 
of  sickness  and  disease.     Over  4,000,000  persons  are  constantly  sick, 

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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

bringing  sorrow  and  trouble  and  expense  to  over  5,000,000  homes, 
directly  affecting  the  welfare  and  happiness  of  probably  25,000,000 
people,  and  indirectly  affecting  the  interests  of  all.  And  yet,  the  best- 
posted  scientists  claim  that  at  least  one-half  of  all  this  enormous  sum 
could  be  saved  bv  proper  living,  which  would  more  than  double  the 
happiness  and  vigor  of  the  people  and  render  them  much  more  capable 
to  deal  intelligently  with  the  perplexing  problems  before  them.  Noth- 
ing better  could  engage  the  attention  of  those  who  are  interested  in  the 
conservation  of  our  natural  resources. 

In  conclusion,  I  have  the  utmost  confidence  in  the  ability  of  the 
American  people  to  solve  all  problems  if  they  will  only  take  the  time 
necessary  to  study  existing  conditions  thoroughly,  and  kindly  and 
thoughtfully  devise  ways  and  means  to  accomplish  desired  results. 
Our  forefathers  met  and  solved  wisely  and  well  the  problems  before 
them.  Other  and  greater  problems  now  confront  us;  let  us  meet  and 
solve  them  with  the  same  patience,  the  same  foresight,  and  the  same 
patriotic  devotion  to  country  and  posterity,  and  all  will  be  well. 

Mr  President,  I  thank  you  and  the  members  of  the  Conference  for 
your  kind  attention.     [Applause] 


Mr  Bryan:  Mr  President,  I  offer  the  following  resolution: 

Resolved,  That  this  Conference  records  its  deep  regret  that  Ex-President  Cleveland 
is  prevented  by  sickness  from  participating  in  this  historic  meeting;  and  that,  in 
extending  to  him  a  cordial  greeting,  it  expresses  a  sincere  wish  for  his  speedy  recovery. 

[Applause] 

Mr  President,  I  move  the  adoption  of  the  resolution. 

The  motion  was  seconded  by  several  voices. 

The  PRESIDENT:  The  resolution  is  before  you.  If  there  is  no  objec- 
tion, I  will  declare  it  adopted  by  acclamation.     [Applause] 

The  motion  is  unanimously  adopted. 

Governor  Blanchard:  Mr  President,  there  may  be  other  gentlemen 
who  have  not  had  an  opportunity  to  speak  either  today  or  the  two 
previous  days  of  this  Conference,  but  who  have  gone  to  the  trouble  of 
preparing  remarks.  I  move  that  all  such  Conferees,  whether  they  be 
Governors  '>r  gentlemen  who  have  been  invited  here  as  assistants  to 
the  Governors,  be  permitted  to  have  their  speeches  or  remarks  printed 
in  the  official  Proceedings  of  the  Conference. 

Governor  Mead:  Mr  President,  I  would  suggest,  with  your  permis- 
sion, thai  a  committee  be  appointed  to  edit,  because  there  might  be 
some  things  submitted  thai  would  simply  be  repetition. 

The  Preside  n  :  I  understand,  Governor  Blanchard,  that  your  motion 
refers  particularly  to  the  gentlemen  who  were  to  read  statements  today, 

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Adjournment  of  the  Conference 


but  who  have  not  had  an  opportunity  to  present  them,  that  those  papers 
shall  be  printed  in  the  Proceedings? 

Governor  Blanch ard:  Yes,  sir. 

The  President:  If  there  is  no  objection  to  that,  it  will  be  so  ordered. 
[After  a  pause]     It  is  so  ordered. 

Governor  Hoch,  of  Kansas:  Mr  President,  I  understood  Governor 
Blanchard's  suggestion  to  cover  a  somewhat  wider  range.  I  understood 
his  motion  to  include  all  those  gentlemen  who  have  not  spoken  at  all, 
but  who  have  papers  or  remarks  that  they  would  like  to  submit,  that 
they  may  have  the  opportunity  of  filing  them,  and  that  such  remarks 
or  addresses  will  be  printed  in  the  record.  I  should  also  like  to  suggest 
that  those  who  have  spoken,  but  did  not  have  prepared  papers,  be  per- 
mitted to  prepare  their  papers  and  furnish  them  for  printing. 

Governor  Blanchard:  I  accept  the  suggestion  of  the  Governor  from 
Kansas,  that  the  gentlemen  having  the  privileges  of  this  Conference  who 
desire  to  prepare  papers  be  allowed  to  file  them,  and  that  they  shall  be 
printed  as  part  of  the  Proceedings. 

The  President:  Has  an  editing  committee  been  appointed?  There 
should  be,  I  think.  Let  me  suggest  that  the  papers  be  submitted  to 
the  Resolutions  Committee,  to  be  passed  on  by  them  before  being 
printed. 

Governor  Blanchard:  The  objection  to  that  is  that  all  the  gentlemen 
composing  that  committee  are  likely  to  leave  the  city  today.  For  one, 
I  must  leave  tonight;  and,  therefore,  I  do  not  think  it  practicable  for 
the  Committee  on  Resolutions  to  undertake  that  duty. 

The  President:  You  could  depute  it,  Governor. 

Governor  Blanchard  :  With  that  understanding,  Mr  President,  the 
Committee  will  undertake  that  duty. 

And  now,  Mr  President,  this  Conference  having  accomplished  its  mis- 
sion, I  do  now  move  that  the  Conference  adjourn  sine  die. 

The  motion  was  seconded  by  Governor  Davidson  and  others. 

The  President:  Gentlemen,  you  have  heard  the  motion.  Before 
putting  it,  let  me  extend  a  word  of  thanks  to  all  of  you,  to  the  Governors 
and  the  other  guests,  for  coming  here.  The  White  House  has  held  many 
distinguished  gatherings  in  its  day.  I  do  not  believe  it  has  ever  held  as 
distinguished  a  gathering  as  this,  composed  of  the  Executives  and  rep- 
resentatives of  the  Executives  of  all  the  States  of  the  Union.  I  thank 
you  for  coming;  and  I  can  assure  you  that,  at  least,  no  body  of  guests 
has  ever  been  more  welcome  than  you  have  to  the  White  House.  [Great 
applause] 

Thereupon,  at  1:30  oclock  p.  m.,  the  question  having  been  taken  on 
the  motion  of  Governor  Blanchard,  and  agreed  to  without  dissent,  the 
President  declared  the  Conference  adjourned  sine  die. 


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56254 — 09 18 


SUPPLEMENTARY   PROCEEDINGS 
Opening  Statements  for  Sixth  Session 


CONSERVATION  OF  LIFE  AND  HEALTH  BY  IMPROVED 

WATER  SUPPLY 

George  M.  Kober,  M.  D.,  LL.  D., 

PROFESSOR    OF    HYGIENE,    SCHOOL    OF    MEDICINE,    GEORGETOWN    UNIVER- 
SITY, WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

Water  is  a  prime  necessity  to  man  not  only  as  an  article  of  food  but 
also  for  the  proper  degree  of  cleanliness  of  person,  clothing  and  dwell- 
ings. So  homes  sprang  first  into  existence  wherever  nature  yielded  a 
bountiful  supply  of  water.  Look  where  we  may,  the  land  supplied  with 
a  spring  or  traversed  by  a  stream  constituted  the  first  choice  of  our 
sturdy  pioneers. 

In  our  towns  and  cities  the  question  of  water  supply  has  been  solved 
by  the  introduction  of  public  water  works,  but  even  these  instrumen- 
talities are  not  of  modern  origin,  for  in  a  visit  to  Rome  we  will  be  shown 
aqueducts  covering  miles  on  miles  which  were  begun  312  B.  C,  many 
of  which  have  been  renovated,  and  attest  the  munificence  with  which 
the  ancient  capital  was  supplied  with  one  of  the  first  sanitary  requisites.* 

Sources  of  Water:  The  water  which  we  require  for  our  daily  use  comes 
to  us  from  the  clouds  in  the  form  of  rain  or  snow.  Of  this  a  certain 
amount  is  evaporated;  another  portion  may  be  collected  in  cisterns, 
another  soaks  into  the  earth  to  reappear  in  the  form  of  springs,  another 
portion  flows  off  in  the  direction  of  surface  slope  to  join  the  ponds,  lakes, 
streams  or  rivers,  or  it  may  penetrate  the  earth  sufficiently  deep  to  re- 
quire us  to  dig  wells  for  its  collection.  The  sources  of  our  water  supply 
may  therefore  be  classified  as  rain  and  snow  water,  surface  water  (in- 
cluding ponds,  lakes,  streams  and  rivers),  and  ground  water,  including 
springs  and  wells. 

a  According  to  Forbes,  cited  by  Mason  (Water  Supply,  1897,  p.  5),  the  entire  length 
of  the  aqueducts  in  English  miles  would  be  381,  yielding  a  supply  of  332  gallons  per 
capita  upon  a  basis  of  a  population  of  one  million,  at  a  cost  according  to  Pliny  of 
$12,700,000. 

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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

The  amount  of  water  available  for  community  purposes  depends  on 
the  precipitation  and  the  precautions  taken  in  a  given  watershed  for 
the  conservation  of  the  waters.  The  mean  annual  rainfall  for  different 
portions  of  the  United  States  has  been  tabulated  by  the  United  States 
Weather  Bureau ;  it  averages  some  30  inches. 

Fanning  gives  the  average  of  40  inches  for  New  England  and  the 
Middle  States.  One  inch  of  rain  would  amount,  according  to  Church, 
to  nearly  101  tons  per  acre;  or  on  a  house  roof  of  say  20  by  20  feet 
area,  one  inch  of  rain  would  be  about  250  gallons.  With  a  rainfall  of  40 
inches  per  annum  this  would  amount  to  10,000  gallons,  or  27  gallons 
per  day.  The  average  daily  supply  per  capita  in  most  of  our  Northern 
cities  ranges  from  20  to  127  gallons  or  more. 

PUBLIC   WATER   SUPPLIES 

The  needs  for  community  water  supplies  are  met  according  to  the  loca- 
tion of  the  town  or  city  with  reference  to  the  availability  of  springs, 
streams,  rivers  an€  lakes.  Since  springs  rarely  yield  a  sufficient  supply 
of  water  for  general  use,  it  is  perfectly  natural  that  in  the  majority  of 
instances  surface  water,  like  streams,  rivers,  lakes  or  ponds  were  utilized 
for  public  water  works  and  when  these  were  not  available,  recourse  was 
had  to  shallow  and  deep  wells  and  so-called  filter  galleries. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  according  to  M.  N.  Baker a  the  number  of 
towns  in  this  country  before  1800  having  a  public  water  supply  was  only 
16,  supplying  about  2.8%  of  the  existing  population;  in  1850  there  were 
only  83  public  water  works,  supplying  about  10.6%  of  the  census  popula- 
tion; in  1897  the  total  number  was  3,196  supplying  about  41.6%  of  the 
population.  The  number  has  greatly  increased,  but  exact  information 
is  not  available. 

COMPOSITION    OF   RIVER   WATER 

River  water  is  a  mixture  of  spring,  ground,  rain,  and  surface  water. 
The  Knglish  Rivers  Pollution  Commission  in  its  Sixth  Report  estimated 
that  about  one-half  of  the  water  descending  as  rain  finds  its  way  into 
streams.  Rivers  are  always  purer  near  their  source;  the  amount  of 
impurities  increases  as  we  descend  the  stream,  since  the  water-courses 
arc  the  natural  drainage  channels  of  the  country  and  the  wastes  of  human 
life  and  occupation  find  their  way  into  the  streams.  It  is  for  this  reason 
that  rivers,  after  passing  through  cultivated  valleys  with  cities,  towns 
or  '  ttlements  along  their  banks  often  contain  a  dangerous  amount  of 
mineral  and  organic  matter.     Thus  the  Mississippi  at  Minneapolis  con- 

ns  only  [8.6  total  solids  per  100,000,  while  the  same  river  at  St.  Louis 
contains  244.3  IK'r  'OO.OOO. 

a  Manual  of  American  Water  Works,  1891  and  1897 

(238) 


Statement  by  Dr  George  M.  Kober 


RIVER    POLLUTION — RELATION    BETWEEN    PURITY    AND    CLARITY 

The  sanitarian  recognizes  two  principal  forms  of  pollution;  first,  the 
amount  of  mineral  matter,  and  second  the  character  and  amount  of 
organic  matter  contained  in  the  water.  The  amount  of  mineral  matter 
depends  largely  on  the  geological  formation  of  the  country  and  the  erosive 
power  of  the  streams.  Water  containing  50  parts  per  100,000,  or  30 
grains  of  solid  matter  per  gallon  is  unfit  for  drinking  purposes  on  account 
of  its  irritating  effects  upon  the  gastro-intestinal  tract ;  but  beyond  this, 
turbidit  y  is  of  no  special  sanitary  significance  unless  the  water  also  con- 
tains metallic  poisons  or  objectionable  chemicals. 


POTOMAC    RIVER 

Potomac  river,  which  may  serve  as  a  type  of  American  rivers  for  our 
discussion,  is  subject  to  various  forms  of  pollution.  For  example  cer- 
tain pulp  mills,  tanneries  and  manufacturing  establishments  defile  the 
water  by  chemicals  and  other  refuse — one  paper  mill  alone  discharges 
over  100,000  gallons  of  liquid  into  the  river  each  day,  heavily  laden  with 
sulphuric  and  tannic  acids. 

These  forms  of  pollution,  although  at  times  so  great  as  to  prove 
destructive  to  game  fish,  are  of  less  interest  to  the  sanitarian  than  con- 
tamination with  excrementitious  matter  from  human  beings  or  animals, 
within  the  towns  and  settlements  of  the  Potomac  basin;  the  drainage 
area  of  the  river  covers  11,400  square  miles,  with  a  population  of  501,647 
or  44  per  square  mile.  Among  the  larger  towns  may  be  mentioned 
Cumberland,  Frederick,  Hagerstown,  Harpers  Ferry,  Staunton;  as  none 
of  these  are  wholly  sewered,  most  of  the  contamination  is  derived  from 
surface  drainage. 

CHEMICAL    ANALYSIS 

Notwithstanding  these  numerous  sources  of  pollution,  Potomac  river, 
according  to  the  chemical  analysis,  compares  very  favorably  as  regards 
purity  with  other  American  rivers.  The  following  are  the  results  tabu- 
lated for  comparison  and  based  on  daily  analyses  of  the  Potomac  water 
made  by  Mr  R.  S.  Weston,  between  July  1,  1899,  and  January  20,  1900, 
and  daily  analyses  made  by  Mr  F.  F.  Longley  in  1906  and  1907: 


Total 
solids. 

Free  am- 
monia. 

Alb.  am- 
monia. 

Nitrites. 

Nitrates. 

Chlo- 
rine. 

Re- 
quired 
oxy- 
gen. 

Robert  S.  Weston ...    ... 

F.  F.  Longley  («)  _    

1390 

.013 

.013 

.ois 

.  01-.  12 

■  105 

.075 

.078 

.  10-.  28 

.  002 
.088 

•  093 
.0135-. 033 

•  73 
•0035 
.0037 
■  42 

2.  60 
1.  70 
1.80 
3.10 

4.50 

F.  F.  Longley  (*>).    

Mason's  safe  limit . 

150-300 

5-7 

(«)  Average  for  1906.     Turbidity,  142. 


(t>)  Average  for  1907.     Turbidity,  97. 


(239) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

BACTERIOLOGICAL   ANALYSES 

Bacteriological  examinations  of  this  water  have  been  made  by  various 
competent  authorities  at  the  Army  Medical  Museum,  and  by  Kinyoun  and 
Sprague,  of  the  Public  Health  and  Marine-Hospital  laboratory.  The 
latter  also  examined  samples  at  or  near  all  the  important  towns  from  the 
head  waters  of  Potomac  and  Shenandoah.  These  samples  may  be  said 
accurately  to  represent  the  bacteriological  conditions  of  the  entire  river, 
and  intestinal  organisms  were  found  in  over  fifty  per  cent  of  the  specimens 
examined.  The  more  recent  examinations  conducted  by  Mr  F.  F.  Long- 
ley,  Chief  Chemist  of  the  Washington  Filtration  Plant,  show  that  of  906 
samples  tested,  45%  revealed  the  presence  of  the  bacillus  coli  communis 
which  belongs  to  the  sewage  group.  The  germs  are  always  more  plentiful 
durins:  colder  months,  because  of  the  fact  that  in  winter  much  water  runs 
in  over  the  surface  from  manured  fields  and  the  purifying  agencies  are 
less  active. 

TURBIDITY    AND    BACTERIA 

These  exhaustive  studies  also  confirmed  the  conclusions  of  Theobald 
Smith  and  the  writer,  that  turbidity  of  the  Potomac  water  is  always 
accompanied  by  a  larger  amount  of  organic  matter  and  germs,  and  that 
fecal  bacteria  and  turbidity  are  coincident,  simply  because  the  same 
showers  that  bring  along  large  sections  of  pulverized  river  banks  also 
wash  through  towns,  barnyards,  cesspools  and  outhouses  before  finding 
their  way  into  the  creeks  and  rivers.0 

The  presence  of  intestinal  bacteria  is  satisfactory  evidence  of  con- 
tamination with  fecal  matter  of  man  or  animals.  Apart  from  the  fact, 
which  it  conclusively  shows,  that  much  valuable  organic  matter  has  been 
carried  away  which  should  have  been  retained  in  the  uplands  for  manur- 
ial  purposes,  the  presence  of  sewage  bacteria  is  significant  of  danger 
and  strongly  points  to  the  possibility  that  such  waters  may  be  infected 
with  typhoid  bacilli. 

It  has  been  estimated  that  the  sewage  from  the  vicinity  of  Cumber- 
land, a  distance  of  about  134  miles,  requires  from  two  to  four  days  to 
reach  the  Washington  Aqueduct.  We  also  know  that  typhoid  germs 
retain  their  vitality  in  ordinary  water  from  six  to  ten  days,  and  could 
therefore  infect  consumers  of  water  in  Washington. 

My  suspicions  that  typhoid  fever  germs  may  travel  all  the  way  from 
Cumberland  were  confirmed  as  early  as  the  winter  of  1889-90  by  study- 


«  Mr  Longley's  examinations  covering  a  period  of  27  months  show  that  a  wave  of 
high  turbidity  is  always  accompanied  by  a  very  high  bacterial  content,  the  maximum 
number  of  bacteria  per  c.  c.  in  the  raw  water  was  175,000  during  a  period  of  highest 
turbidity;  the  minimum  number  per  c.  c.  was  less  than  100  during  a  period  of  lowest 
turbidity,  with  an  average  during  the  entire  period  of  4,852. 

(240) 


Statement  by  Dr  George  M.  Kober 


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(241) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

ing  the  effects  of  the  typhoid  fever  epidemic  at  Cumberland  upon  the 
prevalence  of  the  disease  in  Washington.  The  records  of  the  Health 
Office  show  that  during  this  epidemic,  from  December,  1889,  to  April, 
1890,  the  deaths  from  typhoid  fever  amounted  to  74,  as  compared  with 
42  for  the  corresponding  months  of  the  previous  year.  Indeed,  we  had 
almost  double  the  number  of  typhoid  deaths  during  these  months  than 
occurred  in  any  similar  period  either  before  or  since  this  epidemic. 

The  accompanying  chart  shows  that  this  epidemic  resulted  in  the 
highest  typhoid  mortality  rate  ever  reached  in  this  city,  viz,  104  per 
100,000  (see  diagram). 

Cumberland  during  these  four  months  had  45  deaths  and  485  cases, 
Washington  had  74  deaths  and  about  740  cases,  and  yet  the  starting 
point  was  the  excreta  of  one  patient  washed  into  a  little  run  which  empties 
into  the  Potomac  about  300  feet  above  the  pumping  station  of  the 
water  supply  for  Cumberland.0  In  the  face  of  this  fact,  and  the  almost 
constant  presence  of  intestinal  bacteria,  I  had  no  hesitation  in  declaring 
that  a  considerable  proportion  of  typhoid  fever  in  the  National  Capital 
was  due  to  infected  Potomac  water,  and  with  other  members  of  the 
Medical  Profession  urged  its  purification  (see  cut). 

The  accompanying  chart  copied  from  Mr  Horton's  diagram  in  the 
Engineering  News,  November,  1906,  contains  similar  data  collected  and 
presented  by  the  writer  to  the  Medical  Society  and  to  the  Senate  Com- 
mittee in  February,  1898,  shows  conclusively  that  the  typhoid  fever 
rates  were  highest  when  the  Potomac  water  was  served  in  a  raw  state 
without  any  preliminary  purification  whatever. 

The  Dalecarlia  Reservoir  was  not  in  use  as  a  sedimentary  basin  from 
June  20,  18S6,  to  July  28,  1895.  Mark  the  comparatively  high  typhoid 
fever  rates,  especially  during  the  Cumberland  epidemic  which  started 
in  December,  1889.  Mark  the  decline,  especially  after  the  installation 
of  the  McMillan  Reservoir  in  1902.  The  sharp  rise  in  1902,  in  the  light 
of  our  knowledge  of  bacillus  carriers,  may  possibly  be  explained  by  the 
assumption  that  during  the  construction  of  the  tunnel  and  reservoir 
more  or  less  pollution  took  place  by  careless  workmen. 

The  diagram  is  also  instructive  in  showing  a  remarkable  decline  in  the 
deaths  from  malarial  and  typho-malarial  fevers  and  diarrheal  diseases. 
There  is  little  doubt  that  many  of  these  cases  were  really  typhoid  fever, 
and  that  the  decrease  in  typhoid  fever  is,  in  fact,  very  much  greater 
than  appears  from  the  mortality  returns. 

When  v.<  recall  the  fact  that  deposition  of  sediment  alone  removes 
87%  of  the  bacteria  in  our  local  water  system,  we  can  readily  appreciate 
what    Professor  Sedgwick  has  said  "that  the  purifying  effect  of  these 


"  The  writer  is  indebted  to  Di  W.  W.  Wiley,  <>f  Cumberland,  for  a  detailed  account 
<<f  the  epidemic  in  a  personal  communication  dated  June  25,  1890. 

(242) 


Statement  by  Dr  George  M.  Kober 


sedimentary  basins  was  immediately  to  remove  from  the  polluted  river 
water  a  large  percentage  of  any  typhoid  fever  germs  present  at  the 
intake,  and  thus  to  forestall  to  a  remarkable  and  unforeseen  extent  the 
burden  of  removal  which  the  filter  was  expected  to  bear."  It  should 
also  be  bome  in  mind  that  during  the  year  1906  typhoid  fever  prevailed 
in  Cumberland  to  an  unusual  extent,  but,  contrary  to  the  experience  of 
1890,  we  had  no  increase;  hence  it  may  fairly  be  presumed  that  the 
filtration  plant,  as  expressed  by  Dr  Magruder,  "stood  as  a  guard  between 
the  inhabitants  of  Washington  and  Cumberland."  The  typhoid  rate  in 
1907  was  only  34-59 
per  100,000,  which  is 
the  lowest  rate  ever 
reached,  and  certainly 
a    remarkable    reduc-  ^ 

tion  from  104  in  1890.  «**#'V«'C 

OTHER    AMERICAN 
RIVERS 

What  has  been  said 
of  Potomac  river  is 
equally  applicable  to 
the  Ohio,  Mississippi, 
Merrimac,  Connecti- 
cut, Missouri  and  other 
American  rivers,  be- 
cause they  are  the 
sewers  and  at  the  same 
time  the  source  of 
water  supply  for  nearly 
all  the  cities  located 
on  their  banks.  These 
cities  show,  moreover, 
a  marked  prevalence 
of  typhoid  fever,  thus  confirming  what  has  been  observed  over  and  over 
again,  that  this  disease,  as  also  cholera,  dysentery  and  diarrhoeal  dis- 
eases can  be  carried  from  one  town  or  city  to  another  by  means  of  inland 
waterways.  Indeed,  the  question  is  one  of  extreme  interest  even  to  the 
residents  along  the  Great  Lakes,  the  basin  of  which  according  to  the 
Census  Statistics  (especially  the  area  contiguous  to  Lakes  Ontario,  Erie 
and  Michigan),  is  next  to  the  Atlantic  seaboard  the  most  densely  popu- 
lated area  of  the  United  States;  we  know  that  large  cities  like  Buffalo, 
Erie,  Cleveland,  Detroit,  and  Milwaukee  discharge  their  sewage  into  the 
Lakes,  and  we  also  know   how   Chicago  and  Cleveland  suffered  from 


VIRGINIA 


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(243) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

typhoid  fever  visitations  by  contaminating  their  own  water  supplies.  It 
is  also  a  well-known  fact  that  many  of  the  river  cities  were  obliged  to 
resort  to  purification  of  their  water  supplies  in  order  to  arrest  the  ever- 
increasing  typhoid  fever  wave. 

INFLUENCE  OF  WATER  SUPPLIES  ON  TYPHOID  FEVER  DEATH  RATES 

For  the  purpose  of  determining  the  influence  of  public  water  supplies 
on  the  typhoid  fever  death  rates  in  general,  Mr  M.  O.  Leighton,  Chief  of 
the  Water  Resources  Branch  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey, 
very  courteously  complied  with  my  request  for  a  list  of  the  principal 
American  cities  with  a  population  of  over  30,000,  classified  according  to 
the  sources  of  their  water  supply.  Dr  Cressy  L.  Wilbur,  Chief  Statisti- 
cian of  Vital  Statistics,  Bureau  of  the  Census,  with  equal  promptness 
and  accuracy  furnished  me  the  death  rates  from  typhoid  fever  for  the 
calendar  years  1900  to  1906  inclusive,  these  being  all  of  the  years  for 
which  annual  returns  of  deaths  have  been  received  by  his  office. 

In  order  to  give  a  general  view  of  the  relative  death  rates,  Dr  Wilbur 
has  computed  the  mean  rate  (not  the  average  annual  rate,  which,  how- 
ever, differs  only  slightly  for  the  five  years  1902  to  1906),  and  has 
arranged  them  in  the  accompanying  diagram.  It  has  been  necessary  to 
omit  certain  cities,  either  because  the  information  supplied  was  not  of 
an  entirely  definite  character  or  because  the  city  was  not  accepted  as  a 
registration  area  for  the  whole  or  a  part  of  the  period  covered.  This 
diagram  is  also  restricted  to  cities  in  which,  according  to  the  infor- 
mation supplied,  there  has  been  no  special  means  of  purification  during 
the  period  covered.  For  detail  information  consult  the  tables  on  pages 
264-271.     Each  city  should  be  studied  by  itself. 

The  available  statistics,  in  spite  of  the  many  factors  concerned  in  the 
dissemination  of  typhoid  fever,  conclusively  show  that  the  water  supply 
plays  the  most  important  role  in  the  spread  of  the  disease.  A  summary 
of  the  typhoid  fever  death  rates  is  here  given: 

Mean  typhoid  fever  death  rate  from  1002  to  1006  per  100,000  0}  population. 

Four  cities  using  ground  water  from  large  wells 18.  1 

Eighteen  cities  using  impounded  and  conserved  rivers  or  streams 18.  5 

Eight  cities  using  water  from  small  lakes 19-3 

Seven  cities  using  water  from  the  Great  Lakes 32.8 

Five  cities  using  rx>th  surface  and  underground  water 45.  7 

Nineteen  cities  using  polluted  river  water 61.  1 

The  rates  for  cities  using  unpurified  river  water  fluctuate  from  33.1  at 
Minneapolis  to  122.1  at  Allegheny  and  even  133. 1  at  Pittsburg. 


(244) 


Statement  by  Dr  George  M.  Kober 


TYPHOID   FEVER:   1902  TO   1906 
DEATH   RATE   PER   100,000  OF   POPULATION 


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(245) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


ECONOMIC    ASPECT   OF   PURE   WATER 

Water  pollution  involves  both  economic  and  public  health  problems. 
Those  who  are  interested  in  the  economic  aspect  will  find  an  admirable 
account  in  Victor  Hugo's  "Les  Miserables,"  part  5,  book  2,  who  claims 
that  Paris  casts  25  millions  of  francs  annually  into  the  sea.  While  it  is 
true  that  the  sewers  of  Paris  discharge  daily  not  less  than  300,000  cubic 
meters  of  sewage  into  the  river  Seine,  which  before  the  establishment  of 
their  sewage  farms  was  lost  to  the  agriculturist,  its  actual  value  has  been 
overstated  by  this  brilliant  author. 

Yon  Pettenkofer  a  calculates  the  average  amount  of  feces  per  annum 
at  34  kilograms  and  of  urine  428  kilograms  for  each  person.  Fresh  feces 
contain  on  the  average  25%  of  dry  solids  with  about  1.4%  of  nitrogen, 
while  fresh  urine  contains  from  4  to  5%  of  solids,  with  about  1.33%  of 
nitrogen.  Erisman b  calculates,  that  the  refuse  of  a  city  of  100,000 
inhabitants  amounts  every  24  hours  to  9  cubic  meters  of  feces,  1 20  cubic 
meters  of  urine  and  12,500  cubic  meters  of  house  waste  waters ;  he  does 
not  include  the  sweepings.  Uffelmann  c  estimates  these  at  140  cubic 
meters,  or  a  total  of  12,768  cubic  meters  a  day,  exclusive  of  the  rainfall. 

The  estimated  money  value  of  the  refuse  of  a  city  of  100,000  upon  the 
above  basis  is  stated  by  Paltzow  and  Abendroth  d  to  be  not  less  than 
3,600,000  marks  or  about  $900,000  per  annum ;  but  these  values,  although 
conservative  for  German  conditions,  are  quite  theoretical  and  will  depend 
largely  on  the  demand  for  fertilizer. 

THE  HYGIENIC  VALUE  OF  PURE  WATER — ANNUAL  COST  OF  TYPHOID  FEVER 

IN   THE   UNITED   STATES 

According  to  the  Census  of  1900  there  were  35,379  deaths  from  typhoid 
fever  during  the  Census  year  throughout  the  United  States;  and  based 
on  an  estimated  mortality  of  10%  it  is  within  reason  to  assume  a  yearly 
prevalence  of  353,790  cases  of  this  disease.  If  we  calculate  the  average 
cost  for  care,  treatment,  and  loss  of  work  to  be  $300  and  the  average  value 
of  a  human  life  at  $5,000  we  have  a  total  loss  in  the  United  States  of 
$283,032,000  from  one  of  the  so-called  preventable  diseases.  Mr  George  C. 
Whipple  e  presents  some  striking  evidence  to  indicate  that  a  loss  of 
$  1 0,000  for  every  death  from  typhoid  fever  is  a  conservative  estimate,  in 
which  ease  the  decrease  in  the  "vital  assets"  during  the  Census  year  of 
1900  would   amount  to  $353,790,000.     Reduce  the  prevalence  of    this 

a  Y.  Pettenkofer,  Ueber  Canalisation  und  Abfuhrwesen,  Munchen,  1876,  p.  15. 

'•  Brismas  in  Y.  Pettenkofer's  u.  v.  Ziemssen's  Handb.  d.  Hygiene  II,  p.  88. 

c  Handbuch  d.  Hygiene,  1890,  p.  413. 

<*  Cited  by  Krisnian  on  p.  91. 

«  The  Value  of  Pure  Water,  New  York,  1905,  p.  5. 

(246) 


Statement  by  Dr  George  M.  Kober 


disease  one-half  (which  has  been  accomplished  in  Europe  and  our  own 
country),  and  the  question  of  the  hygienic  value  of  pure  water  will  be 
answered  from  an  economic  point  of  view. 

Mr  Whipple,  while  admitting  that  this  is  merely  a  transference  of  money 
from  one  man's  pocket  to  another,  emphasizes  the  fact  that  "unnecessary 
expenditure  is  a  loss,"  and  that  deaths  from  typhoid  fever  and  from 
other  diseases  represent  a  very  material  loss  of  the  productive  capacity 
of  a  community  and  consequently  a  decrease  in  what  may  be  termed  the 
"vital  assets."  On  page  36  he  computes,  upon  what  may  be  regarded  a 
very  sound  basis,  that  "each  million  gallons  of  polluted  Allegheny  river 
water  pumped  to  Pittsburg  has  heretofore  reduced  the  vital  assets  of  the 
community  by  $110.  This  for  a  population  of  350,000  amounts  to 
$3,850,000  per  year — a  sum  enormously  greater  than  the  annual  cost  of 
making  the  water  pure." 

In  like  manner  he  calculates  that  the  increased  value  of  the  water  to 
the  city  of  Albany,  where  the  typhoid  fever  rate  was  reduced  from  104 
to  26  per  100,000  by  efficient  filtration  "amounts  to  $475,000  per  year, 
of  which  at  least  $350,000  may  be  considered  as  a  real  increase  in  the  vital 
assets  of  the  city." 


THE  EFFECT  OF  IMPROVED  WATER  SUPPLY  ON  TYPHOID  FEVER  DEATH  RATES 

The  table  below  and  the  diagram  on  page  249  show  clearly  the  effect 
of  change  of  water  supply  on  typhoid  fever  death  rates  in  seven  Amer- 
ican cities.  Dr  Wilbur,  of  the  Bureau  of  the  Census,  has  given  the 
death  rate  for  a  considerable  time  before  and  after  the  date  of  change 
and  also  the  average  annual  death  rate  before  and  after  purification,  and 
the  percentage  of  reduction.  From  this  table  we  learn  that  the  com- 
bined average  annual  death  rate  from  typhoid  fever  in  cities  with  a 
contaminated  supply  was  69.4  and  after  the  substitution  of  a  pure 
supply  it  fell  to  19.8  per  100,000;    a  reduction  of  70.5%. 

Table  showing  effect  of  change  of  water  supply  on  typhoid  fever  death  rate 


Year 


1880 
1881 
1882 
1883 
1884 
188s 
1886 
1887 
1888 
1889 
1890 


Typhoid  fever  death  rate  per  100,000  of  population 


Law- 
rence, 

Mass. 


69.  o 

125.  3 
79-  4 
71.8 
48.8 
43-  7 
57- S 

1 14.  1 

113    4 

126.  5 
134    4 


Lowell, 

Mass. 


37-  ° 
894 
81.  S 
78.7 
64.  9 
76.  4 
74.8 

129.  4 
85.8 
92.  o 

160.  9 


Newark, 
N.J. 


52.  7 
35-5 
67.8 
60.8 
58.  x 
61.  4 
53-  5 
5i.  1 
44.  6 
74.  4 
106.  7 


Jersey 
City,  N.  J. 


25-  7 


62 
116 
46 
78 
65 
56 
SIS 
71.  6 
81.  9 
97- S 


Paterson, 
N.J. 


(a) 


(«) 
(«) 
<•) 


S    1 


Albany,     [  Bingham- 
N.  Y.         ton,  N.  Y. 


(a) 

w 
w 

H 
w 

w 

M 

(°) 
(«) 

6S.  3 


(») 

(°) 

(«) 

(•) 

(a) 

(« 

(«) 

(°) 

(■) 

(«) 


60.  o 


0  Figures  not  furnished. 


(247) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

Table  showing  effect  of  change  of  water  supply  on  typhoid  fever  death  rate — Continued 


Year 


1891. 
1892- 
J893- 
1894- 
1895- 
1896. 
1897- 
1898. 
1899. 
1900. 
1 90 1. 
1902. 

1903- 
1904- 
1905. 
1906. 


Average: 
1880-1 
1 880-1 
1 880-1 
1880-1 
1890-1 
1890-1 
1893-1 
1894-1 
1896-1 
1897-1 
1900-1 
1903-1 


891 

892 

893-- 
89s--. 
898-.. 

901 

906 

906 

906 

906 

906 

906 


Per  cent  of  reduc- 
tion  


Law- 
rence, 

Mass. 


119 

104 
6  79 

49 
34 
25.8 
24.  9 
24.  o 
34-  7 

19.  2 
18.7 
19.8 
28.3 

17-  5 
22.8 
21.0 


94.  o 


Typhoid  fever  death  rate  per  100,000  of  population 


25  9 


72.  4 


Lowell, 
Mass. 


98.  7 
95-8 
67.3 
'6i.  4 
e39-  1 
43-  9 

19.  3 
27.  6 
194 
17.9 

30.  O 

17-9 
32.  7 

20.  o 

19.  o 

7-  4 


89.  2 


22.  6 


74.  7 


Newark, 
N.J. 


71.  o 
°78.  3 
31-  2 
so.  6 
19.9 
27-  S 
193 
132 
3S-  4 

31.  I 
23.8 

19.  6 
33.  9 
136 
14.  1 
176 


62.  9 


21.3 


Jersey 
City,  N.  J. 


100.  o 
72.  o 
66.  4 
53-  7 
95-  2 

"84.3 
19.  8 
40.  1 

19.  3 
22.  8 
16.  I 

20.  3 
14.  9 

18.  9 

19.  8 

20.  3 


71.  9 


66.  1 


70.  8 


Paterson, 
N.J. 


so.  7 
175 
39-  o 

7- s 

34.  7 
43  S 
48.8 

37-  2 
56.9 
36.6 
23.  S 
°34-  4 

32.  O 
7-3 

143 
4-  4 


3°-  4 


11.  7 


61. S 


Albany, 
N.  Y. 


113.  8 
52.  7 
61.  1 
S4-8 

170.  7 

102 
88 
99 

6  86 
41 
31 
32- 4 
19-  7 
17.  S 

19.  4 

20.  3 


89.  5 


24.  9 


72.  2 


Bingham- 
ton,  N.  Y. 


90.  3 
S°.  1 
44.  o 
48.8 
34.8 
238 
340 
72.3 
25-  S 
40.  4 
52.  1 

O  29.  3 

13.  O 

9-  4 

l6.  3 

11. 4 


47-9 


75-  6 


o  To  conserved  river  supply. 


6  To  filtration. 


cTo  wells. 


The  Bulletin  for  the  month  of  April,  1908,  of  the  New  York  State 
Department  of  Health  contains  an  interesting  article  showing  that  the 
death  rate  from  typhoid  fever  in  ten  cities  of  that  State  has  been  reduced 
53.4%  by  an  improved  water  supply.  The  details  are  shown  in  the 
accompanying  table: 

Table  showing  the  average  typhoid  death  rate  per  100,000  for  a  period  prior  to  the  im- 
provement in  the  water  supply,  the  average  typhoid  death  rate  per  100,000  since  the 
change  in  the  water  supply,  and  the  percentage  of  reduction  caused  by  the  improvement 


1 

3 

3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 


Place 


Albany 

Binghamton 
Blmira 

11 
Hudson 

I  u  r 

Bcbeno  tad) 

Troy 

Watertnu  n 


Average 

before 
improve- 
ment 


88.8 
39-3 
54- 9 
42.  2 

64- 3 
67.  2 

9S-5 
25.0 
58.2 
94-  7 


Average 
after 

improve- 
ment 


23- 

11. 

41. 

24. 

31 

14. 

54- 

144 

310 

36.9 


Per  cent 

reduction 

in  death 

rate 


730 

72.  2 

24.4 

4i 

So 

78 

43 

42 

46.8 

61.8 


(248) 


Statement  by  Dr  George  M.  Kober 


1880 


TYPHOID  FEVER 

DEATH  RATES  PER  100,000  OF  POPULATION 

885     1890     1895     1900     1905 


JLNHUM. 
»VE»A9C 


60 
40 
20 
0 
100 
80 
60 
40 
20 


j 


wpmmm 


ti_  JJa)J_lX 


03 

iBJoiHS 

ISOIIMC 


CHANGE  IN  WATER  SUPPLY 


(i)  From  unfiltered  river  supply  to  filtered  river  supply 

(2)  From  unfiltered  river  supply  to  wells 

(3)  From  polluted  river  supply  to  conserved  river  supply 

(249) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


It  may  be  urged  that  improved  methods  of  medical  treatment  are 
responsible  for  a  considerable  reduction  in  the  death  rates  from  typhoid 
fever,  but  when  we  see  such  a  striking  change  immediately  after  the 
installation  of  filtration  plants  as  in  the  case  of  the  American  cities  shown 
in  the  accompanying  diagram,  we  are  forced  to  the  conclusion  that 
water  purification  plays  the  most  important  role.  The  rates  in  this  chart 
are  per  100,000  of  population,  except  in  the  case  of  the  city  of  Cincin- 
nati where  a  comparison  is -made  in  the  number  of  deaths  since  the 
introduction  of  filtered  water,  for  November  and  December,  1907,  Jan- 
uary, February,  and  March,  1908,  and  the  corresponding  months  for 
1905,  1906,  and  1907.  For  details  see  weekly  reports  of  the  Board  of 
Health  of  Cincinnati.  March  20,  1908. 


O           20         AO        6  0         80        IOO        120         140        |60        180        200 

1003    1 

3                                                     __ 

1904- 

1905 

Wate  rTow  n,  fCf. 

1906 

1392 

1893 

1894 

Lawrence,  Mas*. 

1803 

1996 

1838 

1899 

1900 

Albsuu 

1901 

1900 

— to  — 
1908 

Fr-L«i    ■  '  !     i 

Cincinnati.  Onio. 

ABRUPT   REDUCTION   IN   DEATH    RATES   FROM   TYPHOID   FEVER   INCIDENT    TO    WATER 
PURIFICATION    IN    FIVE    AMERICAN   CITIES. 

The  next  table  with  the  diagram  on  page  252  brings  out  the  general 
movement  of  typhoid  fever  in  different  countries  and  cities  showing 
percentage  of  decrease  from  first  to  last  period  shown.  The  period 
covered  by  Dr  Wilbur  is  (as  nearly  as  convenient)  the  last  quarter  of  a 
century,  and  the  rates  are  usually  given  for  successive  five-year  periods, 
beginning  with  1881.  The  table  shows  that  during  the  last  25  years  the 
death  rate-  from  typhoid  Eever  has  fallen  in  those  14  countries  and  cities 
from  an  average  of  42.3  to  18.1  per  100,000,  a  reduction  of  54.3%.  A 
more  striking  reduction  could  have  been  shown,  if  statistics  going  back 
as  far  as  [870  had  been  included.  The  typhoid  rate  in  Berlin  in  1872, 
at  a  time  when  thai  city  was  riddled  with  cesspools  and  supplied 
with  polluted    water,  was  as   high   as    142    per    100,000.     On  account 


(250) 


Statement  by  Dr  George  M.  Kober 


of  the  incomplete  mortality  returns  everywhere  prior  to  1881,  we 
have  deemed  it  best  to  exclude  all  older  foreign  statistics,  and  for 
similar  reasons  Dr  Wilbur  begins  his  statistics  for  the  United  States  with 
1890.0  We  have  likewise  excluded  Mr  Whipple's  statistics,  which  tend 
to  show  that  the  death  rate  from  typhoid  fever  in  12  States,  including 
all  of  the  New  England  States,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Maryland,  Cali- 
fornia, Minnesota  and  Michigan,  has  fallen  from  55  in  1880  to  21  per 
100,000  in  1905. 

Table  showing  general  movement  of  typhoid  fever  in  different  countries  and  cities,  showing 
percentage  of  decrease  from  first  to  last  period  shown 


Area 


[  Death  rate 
per  100,000 
of  popu- 
lation 


Registration  area  United 
States: 

r  890 

1901-1905 

New  South  Wales: 

1881-1885 

1886-1890 

1891-1895 

1 896-1 900 

1 90 1 -1 90 s 

England  and  Wales: 

1881-1885 

1886-1890 

1891-1895 

1 896-1 900 

1901-1905 

Norway: 

1881-1885 

1886-1890 

1891-1895 

1 896-1 900 

1901-1905 

Belgium: 

1881-1885 

1886-1890 

1881-1895 

1 896-1 900 

1901-1905 

Switzerland: 

1881-1885 

1886-1890 

1891-1895 

1 896-1 900 

1 90 1 -1 905 

Japan: 

1881-1885 

1886-1890 

1891-1895 

1 896-1 900 

1901-1905 


46-  3 
32.  2 

50.  6 
44.  5 
23- 9 
30.  o 

21.5 
81.  6 

17.9 

173 

17-5 
ii.  2 

11.  o 
9.0 

7-  1 
7.  4 
5-3 

56.  4 
39-  7 
34.  4 
24.  3 
16.8 


Per  cent  of 
decrease 

from  first 
period 
shown 


29. 

3 

16. 

0 

II. 

1 

8 

3 

6 

2 

IS- 

0 

2^ 

2 

20 

6 

IS- 

1 

II. 

6 

30-  5 


57-  5 


48.  1 


Si. 8 


70.  2 


78.8 


22.  7 


Area 


Paris: 

1881-1885 

1886-1890 

1891-1895 

1896-1900 

1901-1905 

Berlin: 

1881-1885 

1886-1890 

1891-1895 

1896-1900 

1901-1905 

London: 

1871-1880 

1881-1890 

1891-1900 

New  York  (old  city) 

1873-1882 

1883-1892 

1893-1902 

Chicago: 

1881-1885 

1886-1890 

1891-1895 

1896-1900 

1901-1905 

Boston: 

1 881-1885 

1886-1890 

1891-1895 

1896-1900 

1901-1905 

Philadelphia: 

1 881-1885 

1886-1890 

1891-1895 

1896-1900 

1901-1905 


Death  rate 

per  100,000 

of  popu- 
lation 

88.0 

41.  0 

22.  0 

19.  0 

12.0 

26.  0 

14.  0 
8.0 

5-0 

5-  0 

24.  4 
18.  9 

14-  3 

32.8 

28.  7 
17.8 

65-  7 

55-  1 
80.  7 

33-  0 

27.  7 

Si- 9 

39-  0 
29.  6 

3°-  0 

22.  4 

69   3 
68.0 

43-  2 
45-  6 

49-  9 

Per  cent  of 
decrease 

from  first 
period 
shown 


86.4 


80.8 


41.  4 


45-  7 


57-8 


56.8 


28.0 


o  Dr  Wilbur  obtained  the  foreign  statistics  from  data  compiled  from  the  International  figures 
given  in  the  last  report  of  the  Registrar  General  of  England  and  Wales,  from  which  report  the  rates 
for  London  are  also  taken.  The  rates  for  the  cities  of  Paris  and  Berlin  are  given  in  the  Annuaire 
Statistique  of  the  city  of  Paris  for  the  year  1904.  and  the  rate  of  Berlin  for  the  period  1901-1905  was 
supplied  by  Dr  Wilbur  from  data  in  his  office.  Dr  Wilbur  laments  the  fact  that  "it  is  even  now 
difficult  to  obtain  a  satisfactory  statement  of  the  number  of  deaths  from  such  an  important  disease 
as  typhoid  fever  in  certain  foreign  countries  and  the  difficulty  of  securing  comparative  data  increases 
as  we  go  back.  The  disease  was  first  accurately  compiled  by  the  Registrar  General  of  England  in 
1869." 


56254—09- 


(251) 


-19 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


TYPHOID  FEVER 


DEATH  RATE  PER  100,000  OF  POPULATION 


t 


50 


5Q-Q 


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/90/-/905 


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Z89/-/895 


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/90/-/90S 


/87/  -  /880 


/88/  -  /890 


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ZS96- 


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■Z900 


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/89/  -/895 


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/83/  -/88S 


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/89/  -Z895 


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/90/-/90S 


PATE 


(/.  S.+ 


MEW 
SOUTH  WALES 


E/VG/.AA/0 
A  A/0  WALES 


NOfiWAr 


BEL6/UM 


SMTZEPLAND 


J  A  PA  A/ 


PAP/S 


BEPL/A/ 


LONDO/V 


MEW  YOPH 
(0/</C/ty) 


Ctf/CAGO 


BOSTO// 


PP/LADELPP/A 


+  Registration  area 


(252) 


Statement  by  Dr  George  M.  Kober 


The  incomplete  and  unsatisfactory  character  of  the  mortality  statistics 
in  the  United  States  is  largely  due  to  the  limited  extent  of  the  registra- 
tion area.  The  importance  of  vital  statistics,  which  constitute  the  foun- 
dation stone  of  public  hygiene,  is  not  fully  recognized  by  our  States,  and 
yet  as  remarked  by  Dr  Billings  "when  we  wish  to  study  the  healthful- 
ness  of  a  city,  whether  it  is  getting  better  or  worse,  or  judge  correctly 
the  effect  of  certain  sanitary  laws,  we  should  not  only  know  the  number 
of  deaths,  but  also  the  amount  and  character  of  the  prevalent  diseases, 
together  with  accurate  information  as  to  the  number  of  population  at 
different  ages." 

OTHER   WATER-BORNE   DISEASES 

What  has  been  said  of  typhoid  fever  is  equally  true  of  other  water- 
borne  diseases  like  cholera,  dysentery,  cholera  morbus,  diarrheal  dis- 
eases and  the  transmission  of  the  eggs  of  intestinal  and  other  parasites, 
because  the  germs  or  eggs  of  these  diseases  are  present  in  the  intestinal 
tract  and  presumably  also  in  sewage  contaminated  water.  Thus,  for 
example,  the  cholera  epidemic  of  Hamburg  in  August,  1892,  resulting  in 
17,020  cases,  with  8,605  deaths,  was  caused  by  a  band  of  gypsies  camped 
on  the  banks  of  the  river  Elbe,  and  the  discharges  of  one  of  its  members 
suffering  from  cholera  were  emptied  into  the  river  which  at  that  time 
was  served  to  the  inhabitants  of  Hamburg  without  filtration.  The  epi- 
demic spared  the  adjoining  city  of  Altona,  which  derives  its  water  from 
the  same  river  after  receiving  the  sewage  of  Hamburg  with  its  800,000 
people,  but  Altona  filtered  its  water  and  Hamburg  at  that  time  did  not. 

EFFECTS    OF    PURE    WATER    ON    GENERAL    DEATH    RATES 

We  have  already  pointed  out  what  the  purification  of  Potomac  water 
has  accomplished  in  the  way  of  reducing  the  mortality  from  typhoid, 
malarial  and  diarrhceal  diseases.  Mr  Allen  Hazen,a  one  of  the  most 
distinguished  experts  on  water  purification  in  America,  has  conclusively 
shown  that  as  a  result  of  the  installation  of  filtration  plants  in  five  cities 
supplied  previously  with  an  impure  water,  there  was  not  only  a  reduction 

«  See  paper  read  at  the  International  Engineers'  Congress  at  St.  Louis  in  1904.  Mr 
Hazen  found  in  five  cities  where  the  water  supply  had  been  radically  improved 

Per 
100,000. 

A  reduction  in  total  death  rate  with  the  introduction  of  a  pure  water  supply 440 

Normal  reduction  due  to  general  improved  sanitary  conditions,  computed 
from  average  of  cities  similarly  situated,  but  with  no  radical  change  in  water 
supply ,37 

Difference  being  decrease  in  death  rate  attributable  to  change  in  water 

supply 303 

Of  this,  the  reduction  in  deaths  from  typhoid  fever  was 71 

Leaving  deaths  from  other  causes  attributable  to  change  in  water  supply.       232 

(253) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

of  81%  in  the  deaths  from  typhoid  fever,  but  also  a  marked  reduction  in 
the  general  death  rate.  His  computations  clearly  indicate  that  where 
one  death  from  typhoid  fever  has  been  avoided  by  the  use  of  a  better 
water,  a  certain  number  of  deaths,  probably  two  or  three,  from  other 
causes  have  been  avoided.  It  is  a  difficult  matter  to  explain  how  water 
is  connected  with  the  deaths  other  than  those  from  water-borne  diseases, 
yet  when  we  consider  that  water  enters  into  the  composition  of  the  human 
body  to  the  extent  of  63%,  we  are  in  a  position  to  appreciate  the  sanitary 
acumen  of  Aristotle  when  he  wrote  in  his  Politica:  "The  greatest  in- 
fluence on  health  is  exerted  by  those  things  which  we  most  freely  and 
frequently  require  for  our  existence,  and  this  is  especially  true  of  water 
and  air." 

AVERAGE   LENGTH  OF   HUMAN   EIFE 

Professor  Finkelnburg,  of  Bonn,  estimates  that  the  average  length  of 
human  life  in  the  sixteenth  century  was  only  between  18  and  20  years, 
and  that  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  it  was  a  little  over  30  years, 
while  today  it  is  between  38  and  40  years — indeed  the  span  of  life  since 
1880  has  been  lengthened  about  six  years.  No  two  factors  have  con- 
tributed so  much  to  the  general  result  as  the  improvement  of  the  air  we 
breathe  and  the  water  we  drink.  Indeed,  we  have  ample  evidence  that 
with  the  introduction  of  public  water  supplies  and  sewers  the  general 
mortality  in  numerous  cities  during  the  past  fifty  years  has  been  reduced 
fully  one-half,  the  good  effects  being  especially  shown  by  a  marked  de- 
crease in  the  number  of  cases  of  typhoid  fever,  diarrhoeal  diseases,  and 
consumption.  The  vital  statistics  of  Great  Britain  furnish  the  proof,a 
and  our  experience  with  American  cities  confirms  this  conclusion. 

«  The  following  table  shows  the  death  rate  from  certain  diseases  per  10,000  of  popu- 
lation in  English  cities  before  and  after  the  introduction  of  sanitary  works  (see  Cam- 
eron, A  Manual  of  Hygiene,  1874,  p.  129): 


Bristol 

Do 

-ter. .. 

Do 

C  irrilff 

Do 

Macclesfield 

Do 

Warwick.. . 

Do. 
Stratford 

Do 

Ashby 

Do 

Dover 

Do 

Croydon 

Do... 


Before  sanitary  works 
After  sanitary  works.. 
Before  sanitary  works 
After  sanitary  works.. 
Before  sanitary  works 
After  sanitary  works.. 
Before-  sanitary  works 
After  sanitary  works.. 
Before  sanitary  works 
After  sanitary  works.. 
Before  sanitary  works 
After  sanitary  works.. 
i'.'  i' ire  sanitary  works 
After  sanitary  works.. 
I'.'  !■  ir«  niitary  works 
After  sanitary  works 
Before  sanitary  works 
After  sanitary  works.. 


Typhoid 
fever. 


10. 
6. 

14- 

7- 
17. 
IO. 
14. 

8. 
19 

9- 
12. 

4- 

la- 
s' 
14. 

9- 

IS- 

s- 


Diarrhoea. 


0 

10 

s 

7 

9 
16 

7 

19 

S 

17 

S 

4 

2 

11 

5 

9 

0 
0 

S 
8 

5 

11 

0 

S 

3 

7 

4 
8 

0 

9 

0 

7 

0 

10 

S 

7 

Consump- 
tion. 


3i- 

25- 

43- 
29 
34. 
28. 


Si-S 
35-3 
40.  o 

32.3 
26.6 

26.  s 
25-5 
31-3 
26.  s 
21.  2 


(254) 


Statement  by  Dr  George  M.  Kober 


EFFECTS  OF  PURE  WATER  ON  THE   NATURAE  GROWTH  OF  THE  POPULATION 

The  mortality  of  London  between  1660  and  1679  was  50  per  1,000  of 
inhabitants;  from  1680  to  1728,  including  the  period  of  pests,  it  was  80 
per  1,000;  between  1729  and  1780  it  was  still  40  per  1,000,  since  which 
time  it  has  steadily  decreased  to  15.1  per  1,000  in  1905. 

The  death  rate  in  the  city  of  Berlin  has  been  reduced  from  32.9  in  1875 
to  16.4  in  1904;  in  Munich  from  41.6  in  1871  to  18  in  1906,  and  in  Wash- 
ington from  28.08  in  1875  to  19.25  in  1907. 

The  death  rate  in  the  city  of  New  York  in  1804  was  28  per  1,000;  from 
1850  to  1854  it  was  38  per  1,000;  while  in  1906,  in  spite  of  the  density 
of  population,  it  was  18.9  per  1,000,  practically  a  reduction  of  50%,  which 
according  to  Walter  F.  Wilcox a  of  Cornell  University,  means  a  saving  of 
something  like  46,000  lives  each  year  in  that  city  alone. 

The  mortality  in  the  registration  area  in  the  United  States  has  been 
reduced  since  1890  from  19.6  to  16.2  per  1,000  in  1905.  Taking  the  Cen- 
sus figures  of  a  population  of  33,757,8 11  in  the  registration  area  as  a 
basis,  the  number  of  deaths  in  1905  was  544,533;  whereas  at  a  rate 
prevalent  in  1890,  they  would  have  been  662,654;  a  reduction  of  17.8% 
and  a  saving  in  one  year  of  118,121  lives.  If  the  same  ratio  is  applied 
to  the  entire  estimated  population  in  the  United  States  of  82,574,195  the 
saving  of  human  lives  during  1905  alone  would  be  over  290,000. 

SELF-PURIFICATION   OF   STREAMS   UNRELIABLE 

We  would  not  think  of  establishing  a  vicious  circle  between  our  mouths 
and  the  drainage  of  our  houses  and  stables,  and  yet  practically  we  have 
suffered  this  to  be  done  upon  the  assumption  that  rivers  purify  them- 
selves. A  certain  degree  of  purification  is  possible  by  natural  means, 
such  as  dilution  with  unpolluted  water,  deposition  of  suspended  matter, 
the  agency  of  aquatic  animals  and  plants,  the  bacteria  of  nitrification, 
the  destructive  influence  of  sunlight  upon  germ  life,  and  the  chemical 
affinity  of  certain  bodies.  These  factors  are  calculated  to  purify  waters, 
provided  we  give  them  a  chance.  This  may  still  be  true  in  very  sparsely 
populated  regions  of  our  own  country,  but  with  increasing  settlements 
the  pollution  of  our  streams  will  become  continuous  from  their  sources  to 
their  mouths,  and  river  water  to  which  sewage  gains  access  must  be 
considered  as  dangerous  for  drinking  purposes. 

ACTION   REQUIRED   IN   THE   INTEREST  OF   PUBLIC   HEALTH 

One  of  the  most  pressing  needs  is  an  investigation  into  the  pollution 
of  water  supplies  when  such  pollution  affects  or  threatens  to  affect  the 
sanitary  condition  of  the  people  of  more  than  one  State,  because  the  in- 

«  Monthly  Bulletin  New  York  State  Department  of  Health,  March,  1908. 

(255) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

dividual  States  are  powerless  to  protect  themselves  against  the  misdeeds 
of  their  neighbors.  Mr  Bartholdt's  bill  for  the  appointment  of  a  river 
pollution  commission,  first  introduced  in  1896,  has  not  yet  become  a  law. 
England  enjoyed  the  benefit  of  such  a  commission  as  early  as  1855,  and 
in  order  to  prevent,  remedy,  and  remove  the  danger  of  polluted  water 
supplies  adopted  a  comprehensive  system  for  the  disposal  of  sewage  and 
of  water  purification,  the  fruits  of  which  have  already  been  referred  to. 

Sanitarians  have  maintained  for  years  that  no  community  or  individual 
has  a  right  to  pollute  streams  used  for  public  water  supplies  any  more 
than  a  man  has  to  poison  his  neighbor's  well.  The  legal  aspects  of  water 
pollution  were  presented  by  Dr  J.  L.  Leala  in  a  paper  read  before  the 
American  Public  Health  Association,  1901,  and  it  is  gratifying  to  note 
that  quite  a  number  of  our  States  and  Territories,  though  in  various  de- 
grees of  effectiveness,  have  sought  to  protect  waters  used  for  public  sup- 
plies within  their  boundaries.  While  much  commendable  progress  has 
been  made,  more  remains  to  be  done,  especially  as  regards  uniformity  of 
legislation  and  adequate  protection  of  interstate  waters.  All  that  is 
needed  in  this  country  is  a  correct  appreciation  of  the  dangers  of  inter- 
state water  pollution. 

The  principles  of  common  law  as  to  waters  have  been  appreciated  by 
some  of  the  nations  of  Europe.  Thus  the  inhabitants  of  a  town  in 
Belgium  suffered  from  the  effects  of  a  river  polluted  by  the  French,  and 
the  French  government  not  only  compelled  the  offending  city  to  dispose 
of  its  sewage  by  irrigation  but  granted  a  subsidy  for  this  purpose. 

METHODS   OF   SEWAGE   DISPOSAL 

After  determining  the  extent  and  dangers  of  river  pollution,  the  remedy 
can  and  should  be  applied.  This  remedy  is  not  only  of  interest  to  the 
sanitarian  but  also  the  agriculturist  and  consists  in  the  adoption  of  a 
proper  method  of  sewage  disposal,  including  harmful  industrial  wastes. 

The  best  method  so  far  proposed  is  sewage  farming,  or  irrigation. 
The  British  Royal  Commission  as  early  as  1876  approved  it;  in  fact  this 
method  has  been  successfully  used  for  centuries  on  the  hot  plains  of 
northern  Italy  and  in  Spain,  and  will  also  have  a  very  promising  future 
in  the  West  where  every  drop  of  water  is  needed  for  irrigation. 

The  city  of  Berlin  purchased  about  20,000  acres  of  land  and,  notwith- 
standing the  enormous  outlay  of  a  little  over  $3,000,000  for  the  land  and 
over  $10,000,000  for  the  sewer  system,  operates  these  farms  at  a  net  profit 

"  Dr  Leal  in  his  paper  divided  the  States  and  Territories  into  five  classes  according 
to  the  nature  of  their  statute  law  upon  water  pollution.  Extracts  of  a  more  recent 
review  by  Edwin  is.  Goodell,  which  brings  the  subject  matter  up  to  August,  1905, 
is  appended  (pages  200-263).  For  complete  digest  consult  Water  Supply  and  Irri- 
gation, Paper  No.  152,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  1905. 

(256) 


Statement  by  Dr  George  M.  Kober 


of  about  $60,000  per  annum.  The  city  employs  men  condemned  to  the 
workhouse  as  laborers  at  the  farms,  and  practically  converts  vagabonds 
into  a  producing  class,  with  a  fair  prospect  that  many  of  these  individuals 
will  continue  their  honest  efforts  to  become  self-supporting  citizens. 
Moreover  the  old  manor-houses  of  the  individual  farms  are  utilized  as 
country  homes  for  convalescents,  and  thus  the  beneficent  effects  of  this 
system  are  felt  in  more  than  one  direction. 

Heretofore  it  has  not  been  considered  necessary  to  prevent  the  pollu- 
tion of  rivers  affected  by  tide  waters.  Dr  Conn  of  the  Wesleyan  Uni- 
versity, in  1894,  however,  traced  an  outbreak  of  typhoid  fever  to  raw 
oysters  which  had  been  fattened  in  a  place  where  they  were  liable  to  con- 
tamination by  typhoid-infected  sewage,  and  since  then  numerous  in- 
stances have  been  reported  elsewhere.  It  has  been  shown  that  typhoid 
fever  germs  remain  viable  in  oysters  from  fourteen  to  thirty  days,  and 
the  medical  officer  of  the  local  government  of  England  in  the  twenty- 
fourth  annual  report  points  out  the  danger  of  many  of  the  oyster  beds 
from  the  sewage  pollution  on  the  English  coast,  all  of  which  indicates 
that  even  this  newly  discovered  source  of  danger  must  be  guarded  against. 
On  the  whole  we  may  conclude  that  sewage  farming  for  economic  rea- 
sons should  be  recommended  for  all  localities  where  the  grade  will  admit 
of  the  sewage  being  carried  to  lower  lands.  In  sections  of  our  country 
not  adapted  to  farming  and  where  land  is  scarce  and  expensive,  purifi- 
cation of  sewage  by  intermittent  filtration  should  be  adopted;  in  com- 
munities where  land  is  so  scarce  that  even  intermittent  filtration  is  im- 
practicable, chemical  precipitation  or  sedimentation;  the  bacterial  or  septic 
tank  with  Dilden's  bacteria  filters  should  also  be  considered.  Space  will 
not  permit  details  concerning  the  different  methods. 

It  is  a  matter  of  great  satisfaction  to  know  that  within  the  past  15 
years  over  one  hundred  communities  in  the  United  States  have  estab- 
lished plants  for  the  disposal  of  sewage.  In  1901  I  published  a  tabulated 
list  of  93  communities.  In  1904  Mr  Geo.  W.  Fuller0  published  a  list  of 
114  towns  and  cities  of  over  3,000  population,  which  is  appended  (pages 
264-271).     A  summary  of  types  of  sewage  purification  follows: 


Irrigation 

Intermittent  sand  filtration """IZIIIII 

Chemical  precipi tation " " "I 

Chemical  treatment  by  Power's  Patent III"  IZI Z 

Sedimentation  (including  grit  chambers  and  receiving  basins) 

Strainers  or  roughing  filters 

Coarse  grained  filters  at  high  rates.. ZZZZZZZZZZZI 

Septic  treatment 


Estimated 
population 


200, 000 

250. 000 

320, 000 

125, 000 

8,  000 

20, 000 

95. 000 

160. 000 


"See  Sewage  Disposal  in  America.     Transaction  Society  of  Civil  Engineers.     International  Engi- 
neers' Congress,  1904,  Paper  64. 


(257) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


The  first  attempt  in  the  establishment  of  a  sewage  farm  in  this  country 
was  made  at  the  Augusta  (Me.)  State  Insane  Asylum  in  1872.  Among 
the  more  prominent  and  successful  sewage  farms  may  be  mentioned 
Brockton  and  South  Framingham,  Mass.;  Bristol,  Conn.;  Plainfield, 
N.  J.;  Altoona  and  Wayne,  Pa.;  Pullman,  111.;  Hastings,  Nebr.;  Colo- 
rado Springs,  Colo.;  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah;  Helena,  Mont.;  Phoenix, 
Ariz. ;  Fresno,  Los  Angeles,  Pasadena,  Redding,  and  Santa  Rosa,  Cal. 

PURIFICATION   OF   PUBLIC  WATER   SUPPLIES — RESULTS   ACHIEVED 

The  primary  object  of  sewage  disposal  is  the  prevention  of  water-borne 
diseases,  although  the  economic  aspect  should  not  be  lost  sight  of, 
especially  since  it  has  been  shown  that  this  method  alone  can  not  be  relied 
upon,  as  instanced  by  the  cholera  epidemic  at  Hamburg  and  the  typhoid 
fever  epidemics  at  Cumberland,  Plymouth,  and  elsewhere,  where  the 
dejecta  of  a  single  patient  were  sufficient  to  cause  the  mischief;  hence 
prevention  of  river  pollution  must  be  supplemented  by  nitration  of  the 
water  supply  on  a  large  scale. 

The  diagram  on  page  259  shows  the  relation  between  typhoid  death 
rates  and  various  water  supplies,  grouped  according  to  the  character  of 
their  source,  and  shows  conclusively  that  the  European  cities  who  not 
only  prevent  pollution  of  rivers  but  also  filter  their  water  enjoy  the  lowest 
typhoid  fever  rates. 

In  conclusion  permit  me  to  say  that  while  we  have  reason  to  be  proud 
of  manifold  achievements,  we  have  not  kept  pace  with  other  countries  in 
matters  relating  to  public  health.  I  am  profoundly  grateful  for  the 
opportunity  of  discussing  a  subject  of  vital  importance  to  the  strength, 
of  this  Nation.  Progress  has  crowned  our  past.  Let  our  conduct  raise 
no  blush  on  the  cheek  of  posterity.  Let  us  hand  in  hand,  with  heart  and 
tongue,  join  in  promoting  the  welfare  of  the  American  Nation  by  the 
conservation  of  health  and  life  and  all  of  our  natural  and  wonderful 
resources. 


(258) 


Statement  by  Dr  George  M.  Kober 


Munich 
Vienna 
Balm 

HZUrKII 

90<HiiiriMiif> 
Paris  - 
LoikJou 
[Kitenoii 

,BliK)ii<l!iil(iii 
16.2  Alhann 
ll;iwrence 
Walerluwu 
RM-iiiimiidlmriiugii 
Qnmisliurouoli 


Camden 

..Liiswll 


FHchburo 

CamtirKJoe 
Sommifle 


Wnaesfer 
Briduenort 
HarnfohJ 
Maiden 
Boston 
Chelsea 
New  Bect/onl 
iWuterburu 
HdyuKe 
Broiixborouoli 
MantiaHuiihtirounh 
Pawtutket 
Newark 
Jersey  Citu 
BaUinWe 
Rochester 
Syracuse 
Fan  River 
Brocton 
TauMon 
Haverhill 
Portland 
Salem 
Mwautee 
Detroit 

ChK.U0(» 

Bujjafc 

Erie 

Cleveland 

.Dutum 

StPaut 

Cemloit 

Brockiwiborouph 

ColuiuTws 

JvttKeesport 

Minneapolis 

Seattle 

New  Orleans 

Toledo 

Evansvitte 

Spriiujfieltf 

Cwiriulon 

GvaniTRapids 

Wslmmjjion 

Richmond 

Cincinnati 

Louisville 

Philodelpliia 

Lancaster 

Atlanta 

Harrisbura 

Wneelinj) 

Allegheny 

PHistnin) 


MEAN  DEATH  RATES  FROM  TVPHOID  FEVER.  J902  TO  1906,  IN  66  AMERICAN  CITIES  AND  7  FOREIGN  CITIES.    GROUPED, 

AFTER  FUERTES.  ACCORDING  TO  THE  QUALITY  OF  THEIR  DRINKING  WATER     THE 

RATES  FOR  FOREIGN  CITIES  ARE    TAKEN  FROM  JAMES  R  FUERTES. 


(259) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


APPENDIX 

Extracts  from  a  Review  of  the  Laws  Forbidding  Pollution  of  Inland  Waters 
ix  the  United  States,  by  Edwin  B.  Goodell 


STATUTORY   RESTRICTIONS   OF    WATER   POLLUTION 
Classification 

Speaking  generally,  jurisdiction  over  the  pollution  of  waters  in  the  United  States 
is  confined  to  the  several  States.  There  is  no  provision  in  the  Constitution  which 
gives  to  Congress  authority  in  the  premises,  partly,  no  doubt,  because  at  the  time  of 
its  adoption  the  great  importance  of  the  subject  from  an  interstate  point  of  view  was 
not  thought  of.  Hence,  by  the  familiar  principle  that  the  several  States  retain  full 
sovereign  powers  except  so  far  as  such  powers  are  restricted  by  the  National  Constitu- 
tion or  expressly  delegated  thereby  to  the  National  Government,  the  States  have  full 
control  of  this  subject.  In  reviewing  these  laws,  accordingly,  we  must  examine  the 
statutes  of  all  the  States  and  Territories. 

Uniformity  of  legislation  is  not  to  be  expected.  The  natural  conditions  existing  in 
different  portions  of  the  vast  territory  are  so  various,  the  density  of  population  differs 
so  widely  in  the  different  sections  involved,  and  public  enlightenment  as  to  the  dele- 
terious effects  of  water  pollution  and  the  necessity  to  restrain  it  is,  in  sparsely  settled 
districts,  so  far  behind  that  which  has  been  developed  in  congested  areas  by  the  terrible 
consequences,  that  statutory  regulations  must  necessarily  differ.  In  some  States  there 
is  found  nothing  more  than  a  simple  provision  making  it  a  crime  to  poison  wells  and 
springs,  while  others  have  made  elaborate  provisions  designed  to  check  and,  so  far  as 
possible,  absolutely  to  prevent  all  pollution  of  waters  by  mingling  with  them  the 
refuse  products  of  animal  life  or  the  wastes  of  human  industry.  If,  therefore,  we  are 
to  avoid  making  this  review  a  mere  catalogue  of  statutes,  it  will  be  necessary  to  adopt 
some  system  of  classification  and  grouping.  Doubtless  a  mere  citation  of  the  statutes 
of  all  the  States,  taken  in  their  alphabetical  order,  would  serve  a  useful  purpose  in 
enabling  the  reader  to  turn  to  the  particular  section  in  which  his  interest  lies  and  to 
find  the  legislation  which  affects  this  section.  But  if,  by  a  logical  grouping  of  States 
according  to  their  progress  in  this  particular,  we  can  give  a  clearer  idea  of  the  status 
of  such  legislation  as  a  whole,  without  seriously  interfering  with  the  usefulness  of  the 
book  as  a  compendium  of  State  laws  upon  this  subject,  much  will  be  gained. 

Accordingly,  I  have  arranged  the  States  and  Territories  in  three  groups  or  classes, 
placing  those  in  each  group  in  alphabetical  order  for  convenience  of  reference. 

Class  I.  States  with  partial  restrictions 

This  group  comprises  those  States  and  Territories  in  which  the  legislature  has  con- 
fined itself  to  forbidding  the  poisoning  or  pollution  of  drinking  water  in  certain  ways 
or  in  certain  localities.  They  belong  in  the  same  category  because  they  are  all  at  the 
Same  stage  of  growth  ill  sanitary  education — i.  e.,  there  is  manifest  in  their  legislation 
no  sense  of  the  irability  of  pure  natural  waters,  but  only  a  desire  to  pre- 

vent certain  act     n  <       I  ■■'■  d    I     criminal  in  intent  or  as  likely  to  injure  special  groups 
of  persons  (public  or  private  corporations)   whom   the  legislature  desires  to  protect 

(260) 


Statement  by  Dr  George  M.  Kober 


To  this  class  belong  Alabama,  Arkansas,  Delaware,  Florida,  Georgia,  Idaho,  Iowa, 
Kansas,  Kentucky,  Louisiana,  Michigan,  Mississippi,  Nebraska,  North  Dakota,  Okla- 
homa, Rhode  Island,  Wisconsin.     *     *     * 

Class  II.  States  with  general  restrictions 

This  group  consists  of  those  States  and  Territories  in  which  the  importance  of  pure 
water  for  every  inhabitant  of  the  State  or  Territory  for  drinking  and  domestic  pur- 
poses has  received  legislative  recognition.  It  will  be  noted  that  the  laws  are  general 
in  their  application,  varying  much  in  the  elaborateness  of  the  wording  and  in  the 
emphasis  laid  upon  the  remedies  and  penalties  provided  for  infractions  of  the  law. 

This  class  logically  includes  all  States  not  included  in  Class  I,  but  inasmuch  as  cer- 
tain States  have  recently  adopted  stringent  and  elaborate  methods,  novel  and  extraor- 
dinary in  their  character,  to  restore  and  protect  the  purity  of  their  navigable  and 
potable  waters,  these  States  have  been  omitted  from  Class  II  and  are  treated  in  a 
class  by  themselves,  forming  Class  III.  The  following  States  are  grouped  under 
Class  II:  California,  Colorado,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Maine,  Maryland,  Missouri,  Nevada, 
New  Mexico,  North  Carolina,  Ohio,  Oregon,  South  Dakota,  Tennessee,  Texas,  Utah, 
Virginia,  Washington,  West  Virginia,  Wyoming.     *     *     * 

Class  III.  States  with  severe  restrictions 

This  group  consists  of  those  States  which  have  adopted  unusual  and  stringent 
methods  to  enforce  the  right  of  their  citizens  to  unpolluted  natural  waters.  The 
adoption  of  the  legislation  embodied  in  the  following  pages  under  this  group  indicates 
that  the  inhabitants  of  the  States  in  which  these  laws  have  been  adopted  have  begun 
to  realize  the  immense  harm  which  the  increased  pollution  of  waters,  owing  to  increase 
of  population,  is  doing  to  persons  and  property  within  their  borders.  It  is  noticeable 
that  in  several  of  the  States  stringent  methods  are  adopted  by  which  pollution  by 
cities  can  be  regulated  and  controlled;  while  in  at  least  one  State  (New  Jersey)  a 
system  has  been  instituted  which,  carried  to  its  logical  conclusion,  will  result  in  con- 
veying all  sewage  matter  from  cities  and  large  towns  so  far  beyond  the  borders  of  the 
land  as  to  render  it  wholly  inoffensive  or  in  some  other  way  preventing  its  getting 
into  any  inland  waters  in  an  offensive  form.  The  following  States  are  grouped  under 
Class  III:  Connecticut,  Massachusetts,  Minnesota,  New  Hampshire,  New  Jersey,  New 
York,  Pennsylvania,  Vermont.     *     *     * 

General  Rules 

The  foregoing  compendium  of  common  and  statute  law  may  be  summarized  and 
stated  in  a  few  general  rules,  which  will  perhaps  be  useful  to  property  owners  and  also 
to  officers  charged  with  the  duty  of  protecting  health  and  property  rights  in  waters. 

In  the  nature  of  the  case  these  rules  can  be  only  general,  and  many  exigencies  will 
appear  in  which  more  particular  instructions  must  be  obtained  from  the  consultation 
of  text-books  and  decisions  or  from  the  advice  of  counsel. 

/.  Rights  and  duties  of  riparian  owners 

Every  riparian  owner  has  the  right — 

i.  To  use  the  waters  of  streams,  navigable  or  otherwise,  which  flow  across  or  along 
his  property  for  the  ordinary  purposes  incidental  to  domestic  life  and  agriculture, 
including  grazing. 

2.  To  use  such  waters  for  water  power  and  for  all  kinds  of  manufacturing  purposes 
which  do  not  sensibly  diminish  the  quantity  which  flows  on  for  the  use  of  lower  pro- 
prietors nor  change  the  quality  of  the  waters  to  any  appreciable  extent,  nor  interfere 
with  the  use  of  the  stream,  if  navigable  by  the  public. 

(261) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

3.  To  have  such  waters  flow  to  him  from  the  premises  of  higher  proprietors  not 
unreasonably  diminished  nor  diverted  nor  rendered  impure  by  the  farming  or  domestic 
uses  to  which  the  waters  are  subjected  by  higher  proprietors. 

4.  To  have  such  waters  flow  to  him  not  sensibly  changed  in  quality  by  any  manu- 
facturing or  other  uses  to  which  they  may  have  been  put  by  higher  proprietors. 

5.  To  have  such  waters  to  flow  to  him  in  their  natural  bed,  unpolluted  by  any  deposits 
of  filth  or  any  other  substance  in  the  bed  or  channel  previously  traversed  by  them. 
But  3,  4,  and  5  do  not  apply  to  riparian  owners  in  those  States  in  which  the  doctrine 
of  prior  appropriation  is  the  law.     • 

Conversely,  it  is  the  duty  of  every  riparian  owner — 

1 .  To  so  guard  his  use  of  the  waters  of  streams  which  flow  across  or  along  his  prop- 
erty for  domestic  and  agricultural  purposes  as  not  unreasonably  to  divert  nor  diminish 
nor  render  impure  such  waters. 

2.  To  refrain  from  every  use  in  manufacturing  which  will  divert  or  sensibly  diminish 
the  quantity  of  the  waters  which  flow  onward  to  the  lower  proprietors  or  render  them 
appreciably  different  in  quality. 

3.  To  refrain  from  depositing  any  filth  or  other  substances  in  the  bed  of  such 
streams  in  such  a  manner  or  to  such  an  extent  as  will  cause  the  waters  to  flow  to  the 
lower  proprietors  out  of  their  natural  bed  or  will  in  anywise  pollute  them  or  render 
them  impure. 

Where  the  doctrine  of  prior  appropriation  is  in  force  the  appropriator  must  confine 
his  use  of  the  appropriated  water  to  the  use  for  which  he  has  appropriated  it  and  take 
only  so  much  as  is  reasonably  necessary  to  accomplish  that  purpose.  He  may  not 
pollute  the  stream  wantonly,  nor  by  using  it  for  purposes  not  included  in  his  appro- 
priation. Subject  to  these  restrictions,  the  prior  appropriator  has  the  right  to  divert 
from  the  stream  and  use  as  much  of  the  water  as  is  necessary  to  accomplish  the  purpose 
for  which  it  was  appropriated. 

//.  Rights  and  duties  of  municipal  corporations 

Considered  as  corporate  entities,  municipal  corporations  have  such  rights  and 
powers  only  as  are  conferred  upon  them  by  statute,  either  expressly  or  by  necessary 
implication. 

When  under  due  authority  they  become  the  owners  of  lakes,  reservoirs,  and  natural 
streams,  they  have  the  same  rights  to  pure  water  and  are  charged  with  the  same  duties 
as  are  other  riparian  proprietors. 

If  authorized  to  construct  a  system  of  sewers  draining  into  a  stream,  such  authority 
does  not  exempt  them  (except  in  the  State  of  Indiana)  from  the  duty  not  to  pollute 
the  stream  to  the  damage  of  lower  proprietors. 

The  rights  of  property  owners,  specified  in  3,  4,  and  5  above  are  property  rights  and 
can  not  be  taken  away  from  owners  for  public  use  except  upon  payment  therefor  of 
rm  amount  determined  by  constitutional  condemnation  proceedings  authorized  by 
statute. 

Therefore,  until  municipal  corporations  have,  by  such  proceedings,  acquired  the 
rights  of  all  lower  proprietors  and  paid  for  them,  they  are  required  in  all  cases  to 
refrain  from  the  pollution  of  streams  to  the  same  extent  as  private  owners. 

///.    Nights  and  duties  of  the  public 

By  "the-  public"  is  meant  that  indefinite  number  of  individuals,  whether  larger  or 
smaller,  who  occupy  as  a  common  habitation  a  neighborhood,  village,  town,  State, 
or  country.  Right!  and  duties  which  affect  inhabitants  of  the  neighborhood,  village, 
town,  Siaii-  or  country  as  a  whole,  or  a  considerable  but  indefinite  number  of  them, 
are  called  "public"  rights  and  duties.  )r 

(262) 


Statement  by  Dr  George  M.  Kober 


The  public,  in  this  sense,  aside  from  the  right  to  use  navigable  waters  for  commerce, 
has  the  right  to  enjoy  the  natural  waters  and  the  air  which  passes  over  them,  so  far 
as  life  and  health  are  affected  by  these  elements,  in  a  condition  so  near  that  in  which 
nature  left  them  that  their  use  will  not  destroy  nor  injure  health. 

And,  reciprocally,  the  public,  and  each  member  of  it,  is  charged  with  the  duty  not 
to  pollute  the  natural  waters  upon  which  the  community  depends  for  life  and  health 
in  any  manner  that  will  render  the  continued  use  of  the  waters,  or  of  the  air  which 
passes  over  them,  destructive  of  or  injurious  to  the  life  or  health  of  the  community. 

Public  rights  and  duties  enforced  by  statute 

The  rights  and  duties  attempted  to  be  expressed  under  Class  III  have  received  some 
recognition  by  the  courts  apart  from  statutory  enactments.  They  have  been  enforced 
chiefly,  however,  through  legislation.  These  rights  and  duties  have  received  full 
recognition,  and  an  active  effort  has  been  made  to  provide  an  efficient  sanction  for 
their  enforcement  by  the  legislatures  of  all  the  States  included  in  Class  II  and  Class 
III,  as  hereinbefore  stated.  These  classes  include  thirty-eight  of  the  States  and 
Territories. 

These  statutes,  not  being  in  derogation  of  common-law  rights,  have  been  construed 
as  remedial  statutes  and  not  unconstitutional,  although  in  some  cases  they  may 
seem  to  interfere  with  prescriptive  rights.  No  one  can  acquire  by  prescription  a 
right  to  do  an  act  which  menaces  public  health  or  destroys  public  comfort. 

Progress  of  legislation 

It  will  have  been  noticed  that  public  opinion,  as  expressed  in  public  laws,  is  steadily 
progressing  in  the  direction  of  a  full,  complete,  and  comprehensive  enforcement  of 
all  the  rights  and  duties  of  riparian  owners,  of  municipal  corporations,  and  of  the 
public,  as  summarized  above.  Each  advance  in  statutory  regulation  is  an  advance 
in  that  direction,  and  more  especially  in  the  direction  of  regulating  and  enforcing 
public  rights  and  municipal  rights  and  duties. 

Private  owners,  from  time  immemorial,  have  been  active  in  protecting  their  riparian 
rights  as  against  other  private  owners.  But  the  effect  of  pollution  upon  public  health 
has  not,  until  a  comparatively  recent  period,  been  brought  prominently  into  notice. 
The  pollution  of  streams  by  cities  and  private  persons  has,  accordingly,  not  received 
the  attention  which  it  deserves.  This  state  of  affairs  is  now  rapidly  passing  away. 
Courts  have  shown  themselves  fully  alive  to  the  existence  and  validity  of  public 
rights  in  this  respect,  and  the  legislatures  in  Class  III,  comprising  the  States  of 
Connecticut,  Massachusetts,  New  Hampshire,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Minnesota, 
Vermont,  and  Pennsylvania,  which  has  come  into  this  class  by  legislation  enacted 
in  1905,  have  made  enactments  calculated  so  to  control  such  pollution  as  eventually 
to  prevent  all  danger  to  public  health. 


(263) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


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(264) 


Statement  by  Dr  George  M.  Kober 


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(271) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


NAVIGATION  RESOURCES  OF  AMERICAN  WATERWAYS 

BY 

Emory  R.  Johnson,  Ph.  D. 

PROFESSOR    OF    TRANSPORTATION    AND    COMMERCE,    UNIVERSITY    OF    PENN- 
SYLVANIA, PHILADELPHIA 

The  primary  purpose  of  this  paper  is  to  describe  the  water  transpor- 
tation system  within  the  United  States,  to  state  what  has  been  spent 
upon  improving  our  waterways,  to  give  the  facts  regarding  the  present 
use  of  our  lakes,  canals,  and  rivers,  to  point  out  and  account  for  the 
progress  of  the  coastwise  and  Great  Lakes  commerce,  and  to  explain  the 
decline  of  the  traffic  upon  canals  and  upon  most  of  our  rivers.  In  order 
to  add  to  the  significance  of  the  data  regarding  the  United  States,  the 
mileage  and  traffic  of  the  inland  waterways  of  England,  France,  and 
Germany  are  given.  The  discussion  closes  with  a  summary  of  the  facts 
and  conditions  that  indicate  a  larger  use  of  American  waterways  in  the 
future. 

THE   WATER   TRANSPORTATION   SYSTEM    IN   THE   UNITED   STATES 

The  inland  waterways  of  the  United  States  comprise  about  25,000 
miles  of  navigated  rivers,  a  nearly  equal  mileage  of  streams  that  can  be 
made  navigable  by  the  improvement  of  their  channels  and  the  regulation 
of  the  flow  of  their  waters,  the  five  Great  Lakes  with  a  combined  length 
of  1,410  miles,  and  2,120  miles  of  operated  canals.  In  addition  to  these 
rivers,  lakes,  and  canals  there  are  2,500  miles  of  sounds,  bays,  and 
bayous,  capable  of  being  converted  by  means  of  connecting  canals  aggre- 
gating less  than  1,000  miles  in  length,  into  a  continuous  and  safe  inner 
route  for  the  coastwise  traffic  of  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf.  The  waterways 
in  our  country — rivers,  canals,  lakes,  and  coastal  channels— have  an 
aggregate  length  of  between  55,000  and  60,000  miles,  and  only  about 
half  of  the  entire  mileage  is  now  used  for  navigation. 

EXTENT    AND   COST   OF   WATERWAY    IMPROVEMENTS 

Considering  the  great  length  and  undoubted  value  of  our  inland  water- 
ways, comparatively  little  has  been  done  to  make  them  commercially 
useful.  The  most  effective  work  has  been  done  in  improving  the  har- 
bors and  channels  of  Lakes  Superior,  Michigan,  Huron,  and  Erie,  where 
natural  depths  of  eight  and  twelve  feet  have  been  increased  to  twenty- 

(272) 


Statement  by  Professor  Emory  R.  Johnson 


one,  with  the  result  that  the  freight  now  shipped  on  the  Great  Lakes — 
75  million  tons  in  1906 — is  three  times  what  it  was  in  1890.  The  traffic 
passing  the  St.  Mary's  locks  rose  from  a  million  and  a  quarter  tons  in 
1880  to  seven  and  a  half  millions  in  1889,  and  to  forty-one  and  a  quarter 
million  tons  in  1906,  an  increase  of  3200%.  This  commerce  on  the 
Great  Lakes  has  been  made  possible  by  total  congressional  appropria- 
tions of  less  than  a  hundred  million  dollars." 

The  total  appropriations  made  by  Congress  from  the  beginning  to  1907 
for  the  rivers  of  the  Mississippi  valley  amount  to  $208,484,720.  This 
seems  to  be  a  relatively  large  sum;  but  it  should  be  remembered  that 
on  some  rivers,  particularly  the  Mississippi,  appropriations  have  been 
largely  spent  in  levee  construction  and  other  work  which,  while  indi- 
rectly helpful  to  navigation,  was  intended  primarily  to  prevent  the 
rivers  from  destroying  the  lives  and  property  of  those  living  on  or  near 
its  banks.  With  the  exception  of  the  Ohio  (including  the  Monongahela 
and  Kanawha)  and  Mississippi  and  a  few  other  large  rivers,  relatively 
little  has  been  expended  since  1890  by  the  Federal  Government  in  better- 
ing river  navigation.  When  we  consider  that  the  United  States  has 
spent  during  the  past  hundred  years  in  regulating,  improving,  and 
extending  our  system  of  natural  waterways  only  \\%  of  the  amount 
private  capitalists  have  invested  in  the  construction  of  railways,  our 
congressional  appropriations  for  the  betterment  of  inland  navigation 
seem  to  have  been  conservatively  small. 

In  the  canalization  of  rivers  the  United  States  is  making  some  head- 
way, portions  of  twenty-three  streams  having  been  canalized  to  an 
aggregate  length  of  1,520  miles  in  1906.  This,  however,  was  a  gain  of 
but  442  miles  over  the  figures  for  1889.  When  only  the  more  important 
rivers  shall  have  been  adequately  canalized  there  will  be  several  times 
1,500  miles  of  slackwater  navigation. 

The  United  States  operated  12  canals  in  1906  with  a  combined  length 
of  78.19  miles.  These,  however,  were  constructed  to  overcome  obstruc- 
tions to  lake  and  river  navigation  and  were  not  independent  watenvays. 
In  1907  the  Hennepin  Canal  from  the  Mississippi  river  at  Rock  Island 
to  the  Illinois  river  at  its  great  bend  was  put  in  operation  by  the  United 
States,  and  this  waterway,  96  miles  long,  is  the  first  of  its  kind  to  be 
managed  by  the  Federal  Government.  Nearly  all  of  the  canals  in  the 
United  States  belong  to  the  States  or  to  corporations.  The  only  really 
important  State  canal  is  the  Erie,  now  being  modernized  by  the  people 
of  New  York.6 


a  See  Appendix  I  at  the  end  of  this  paper  for  table  of  Congressional  Appropriations 
for  River  and  Harbor   Improvements. 

£>See  Appendix  I,  table  2,  for  number,  mileage  (including  slack  water),  and  cost 
of  canals  and  canalized  rivers  in  the  United  States:   1906,  1889,  and  1880. 


(273) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


It  is  not  difficult  to  understand  why  the  American  People  have  been 
far  more  interested  in  railway  extension  than  in  the  general  development 
of  waterways.  But  not  all  that  can  be  understood  can  be  justified. 
There  has  been  an  unwarrantable  neglect  of  the  transportation  resources 
which  this  country  possesses  in  its  unrivaled  systems  of  inland  waterways. 

LIMITATIONS      UPON      STATISTICAL      INFORMATION      CONCERNING      INLAND 

'  WATERWAYS 

One  sure  evidence  that  there  has  been  and  is  neglect  is  the  lack  of 
public  interest  in  having  reliable  information  regarding  our  waterways 
and  the  use  that  is  made  of  them.  Provision  was  made  twenty-one 
years  since  for  the  systematic  collection  and  regular  publication  of 
detailed  statistics  of  the  railroads  and  their  traffic;  but  as  yet  Congress 
has  provided  no  machinery  for  recording  and  making  public  the  facts 
concerning  either  the  commerce  moved  or  the  craft  operated  coastwise 
or  upon  our  inland  waterways. 

The  highly  valuable  reports  of  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Navi- 
gation contain  classified  information  regarding  documented  American 
vessels,  the  aggregate  tonnage  of  which  is  about  six  and  a  half  million 
tons;  but  there  is  an  equal  tonnage  of  undocumented  craft  not  included 
in  the  tables  published  by  the  Bureau  of  Navigation.  Comparatively 
few  people  are  aware  of  the  fact  that  American  shipping  has  a  total  ton- 
nage of  over  13,000,000  tons  gross  register. 

Similarly,  the  weighty  and  instructive  publications  of  the  Bureau  of 
Statistics— the  "Monthly  Summary,"  the  annual  report  on  "Commerce 
and  Navigation  of  the  United  States,"  and  the  "Statistical  Abstract"— 
contain  no  statistics  of  the  mileage  of  our  inland  waterways,  no  informa- 
tion as  to  the  commerce  moved  coastwise,  very  little  data  regarding  river 
traffic,  and  only  such  figures  concerning  canal  shipments  as  are  collected 
by  the  States.  The  statistics  of  the  traffic  on  the  Great  Lakes  are  com- 
piled; but  even  these  statistics  are  acknowledged  not  to  cover  all  the 
commerce  moved  on  the  Lakes. 

The  Bureau  of  the  Census  has  about  completed  a  report  on  "Trans- 
portation by  Water"  in  the  United  States  in  1906.  This,  like  the  pre- 
ceding report  of  that  Bureau,  which  was  made  in  1889,  seventeen  years 
ago,  is  a  valuable  document  exceptionally  complete  as  regards  American 
shipping,  but  necessarily  less  satisfactory  regarding  passenger  and  freight 
traffic,  for  the  simple  reason  that  full  and  accurate  information  regarding 
traffic  can  not  be  obtained  until  machinery  shall  have  been  provided  for 
the  systematic  and  daily  recording  of  freight  and  passenger  movements. 

In  calling  attention  to  the  relatively  small  amount  of  information  con- 
cerning t  ransportation  by  water  obtainable  from  the  regularly  published 
official  reports  of  the  Federal  Government,  there  is  no  thought  of  criticiz- 

(274) 


Statement  by  Professor  Emory  R.  Johnson 


ing  the  bureaus  by  which  those  reports  are  compiled  and  issued.  The 
powers  those  bureaus  possess  and  the  scope  of  their  activities  are  fixed 
by  law.  Congress  decides  what  data  the  public  shall  have  regarding  our 
navigation  resources  and  the  use  made  of  those  resources.  As  the  In- 
land Waterways  Commission  states  in  its  preliminary  report,  this  "infor- 
mation is  essential  to  an  intelligent  treatment  of  the  inland  waterways 
and  it  is  desirable  that  means  be  employed  to  obtain  it";  and  the  Com- 
mission wisely  includes  in  its  recommendations  "the  adoption  of  means 
for  ascertaining  regularly  all  facts  relating  to  traffic  on  the  inland  water- 
ways, and  for  publishing  the  same  in  a  form  suitable  for  general  use." 

SHIPPING    EMPLOYED   ON    AMERICAN   WATERWAYS 

According  to  the  report  on  "Transportation  by  Water"  recently  made 
by  the  Bureau  of  the  Census,  American  craft  of  all  classes,  exclusive  of 
those  in  the  fishing  fleet  and  those  owned  by  the  Federal  Government, 
numbered  39,083,  and  had  a  combined  tonnage  of  13,072,755  in  1906. 
Of  this  total  there  were  1,441  registered  vessels — those  employed  in 
foreign  commerce — and  their  tonnage  amounted  to  less  than  a  million 
(939»486)  tons  gross.  Thus  the  craft  constructed  for  domestic  trade 
included  37,642  vessels  with  a  tonnage  of  12,133,269.  In  addition  to 
this  there  was  a  fleet  of  6,910  vessels  with  a  total  tonnage  of  196,132, 
employed  in  catching  and  transporting  fish,  and  a  great  host — 82,443 — 
of  small  boats  and  launches  used  in  the  fishing  industry. 

The  census  taken  in  1906  shows  that  there  were  37,321  vessels  actively 
employed  in  domestic  and  foreign  commerce  of  the  United  States,  of 
which  total  20,032  were  operated  from  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf  coast,  2,537 
on  the  Pacific  coast  (including  Alaska),  2,990  on  the  Great  Lakes  and  St. 
Lawrence,  9,622  on  the  Mississippi  river  and  its  tributaries,  and  2,140  on 
our  other  inland  waters.  The  gross  tonnage  of  the  Great  Lakes'  fleet 
was  2,392,863,  18.4%  of  the  total  for  all  American  merchant  craft  in 
1906;  the  tonnage  of  boats  and  barges — mainly  coal  barges — on  the 
Mississippi  and  its  tributaries  was  4,411,967,  34.2%  of  the  total;  and  the 
tonnage  of  the  craft  on  other  inland  waters  was  259,491,  or  2.01%  of  all 
American  shipping.0  The  tonnage  of  the  river  and  canal  craft  thus 
amounted  to  4,671,458,  or  36%  of  the  total  of  all  active  American  ship- 
ping. 

PAST    AND    PRESENT   TRAFFIC    OF    AMERICAN    WATERWAYS 

The  freight  shipped  on  the  Great  Lakes  in  1907  amounted  to  83,498- 
171  tons;  the  total  for  the  previous  year — the  one  covered  by  the  Census 
report  now  being  published— was  75,610,690  tons,  which  was  42.6%  of 

0  For  further  details  regarding  the  number  and  tonnage  of  American  shipping  em- 
ployed in  the  United  States  as  a  whole  and  upon  each  class  of  waterways,  consult  the 
tables  contained  in  Appendix  II. 

(275) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


the  total  freight,  exclusive  of  harbor  traffic,  handled  upon  American 
waterways  coastwise  and  inland.  The  traffic  of  the  Mississippi  river  and 
its  tributaries  in  1906  was  19,531.093  tons,  or  IX%  of  the  total-  0n  the 
other  inland  waterways  the  freight  aggregated  3,716,765  tons,  or  2.1% 
of  the  total.  The  combined  traffic  on  the  Great  Lakes  and  our  other 
inland  waterways  in  1906  was  98,858,548  tons,  55.7%  of  the  total  water- 
borne  domestic  commerce  of  the  United  States. 

Such  was  the  traffic  in  1906.  Comparisons  with  the  previous  census 
of  1889  will  show  where  progress  has  taken  place  and  what  waterways 
have  gained  and  what  have  lost  in  tonnage.  The  most  rapid  growth 
has  been  in  the  commerce  of  the  Great  Lakes  which  rose  from  25,266,978 
tons  of  shipments  in  1889  to  75,610,690  tons  in  1906.  The  port  to  port 
traffic  of  the  Mississippi  river  and  its  tributaries  in  1906  amounted  to 
19,531,093  tons  of  freight.  There  was  also  handled  locally  in  and  about 
the  harbors  8,325,548  tons,  making  a  total  of  27,856,641  tons  for  the 
rivers  of  the  Mississippi  valley.  In  1899  the  figures  were  29,401,409, 
there  having  been  a  decrease  of  1,544,768  tons  in  the  17  years.  The 
freight  handled  on  the  other  inland  waterways  of  the  United  States  ex- 
perienced a  very  large  decline  during  this  period,  the  total  tonnage  of 
freight  carried  having  fallen  from  11,221,224  tons  in  1889  to  3,944,655 
tons  in  1906.° 

In  order  to  make  the  statement  of  traffic  complete  the  passenger  busi- 
ness must  be  included.  The  highly  efficient  steamers  of  the  lake  lines 
carried  14,080,146  passengers  in  1906;  the  figures  for  1889  were  2,235,993, 
the  increase  during  the  17  years  being  529.7%.  There  was  also  an  in- 
crease of  30%  in  the  passenger  traffic  handled  on  the  Mississippi  river 
and  its  tributaries,  the  figures  for  1889— 10,858,894— having  risen  by 
1906  to  14,122,241.  It  should  be  noted,  however,  that  this  increase  was 
due  more  largely  to  the  growth  in  short  distance  travel  and  in  ferry  traffic 
than  to  an  increased  patronage  of  the  river  steamboats  operated  over 
the  longer  routes.  The  passenger  traffic  on  the  other  inland  waterways 
of  the  United  States  in  1889  is  not  known,  but  it  amounted  to  some- 
what less  than  two  millions  (1,877,889)  in  1906. 

THE    MILEAGE    AND    TRAFFIC    OF    THE    INLAND    WATERWAYS    OF    ENGLAND, 

FRANCE    AND   GERMANY 

A  comparison  of  the  United  States  with  some  of  the  leading  countries 
of  Europe  as  to  the  extent  to  which  the  navigation  resources  of  each 
country  have  been  developed,  and  as  to  the  traffic  uses  made  of  inland 
waterways  will  contribute  to  a  clearer  appreciation  of  the  facts  concern- 
ing the  United  Stat 

"See  tables  in  Appendix  III. 

(276) 


Statement  by  Professor  Emory  R.  Johnson 


Great  Britain. — Although  Great  Britain  is  of  small  territorial  area  and 
has  not  followed  the  policy  adhered  to  by  the  continental  countries  of 
retaining  the  inland  waterways  as  public  highways  to  be  developed  by 
the  government,  the  mileage  and  traffic  of  her  streams  and  canals  are  by 
no  means  insignificant.  The  tidal  coast  line  of  Great  Britain,  3,900 
miles  in  length,  is  supplemented  by  about  4,000  miles  of  canals  and 
improved  rivers.  The  traffic  on  these  inland  waterways,  exclusive  of 
the  coastwise  maritime  commerce,  amounted  to  37,426,886  tons  in  1898, 
the  latest  year  for  which  official  Board  of  Trade  statistics  are  obtainable. 

The  five  principal  estuaries  of  England — the  Mersey,  Humber,  Wash, 
Thames  and  Severn — are  connected  by  19  through  canal  routes.  Nine 
of  these  through  routes  reach  Severn  ports,  nine  have  London  termini, 
ten  reach  Liverpool,  and  five  terminate  at  Hull.  The  traffic  is  most 
active  on  the  canals  in  central  and  northern  England.  The  642  miles  of 
waterways  in  this  highly  developed  industrial  district  moved  23,500,000 
tons  of  freight  in  1898.  The  canals  reaching  Birmingham  had  7,750,000 
tons  of  traffic.3 

There  is  a  widespread  sentiment  in  the  United  Kingdom  that  the 
country  has  made  a  mistake  in  permitting  its  waterways  to  pass  largelv 
into  the  control  of  the  railroads.  Somewhat  over  two  years  since  a 
Royal  Commission  on  Canals  was  appointed  to  make  a  thorough  investi- 
gation of  the  inland  waterways  of  the  country  and  their  uses  for  navi- 
gation and  other  purposes.  This  body  has  gone  about  its  work  with 
the  thoroughness  characteristic  of  British  royal  commissions,  and  a 
comprehensive  report  will  soon  be  issued.  It  is  not  probable  that  the 
British  government  will  decide  to  nationalize  the  waterways  of  the 
country,  although  that  policy  is  being  advocated  by  numerous  public 
bodies.  Some  of  those  who  are  not  ready  to  go  so  far  as  nationalization, 
favor  the  creation  of  a  canal  trust  "to  acquire,  develop,  and  extend  and 
administer,  in  the  public  interest,  canals  and  navigations  in  England 
and  Wales."  This  is  a  proposal  to  apply  to  the  canals  the  policy  of 
control  and  operation  that  has  been  adopted  for  the  administration  of 
the  principal  ports  of  the  country.  The  opposition  of  the  private  canal 
companies  and  the  railroads,  both  to  nationalization  and  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  canal  trust,  may  be  expected  to  prevail — for  the  present 
at  least.  But  it  is  highly  probable  that  the  Board  of  Trade  or  some 
other  public  authority  will  be  given  power  not  only  over  navigation 
but  over  all  uses  of  water. 

The  water  resources  of  Great  Britain  have  come  to  be  such  a  valuable 
asset  to  the  country  that  the  supply  and  the  uses  of  water  must  be 
carefully  guarded.  If  the  streams  are  to  be  maintained  as  navigable 
waterways,  if  the  municipalities  are  to  have  an  abundant  supply  of 

«  For  details  in  regard  to  British  waterways,  consult  Appendix  IV. 

(277) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


pure  water,  the  mining  companies  must  not  be  permitted  to  continue 
their  reckless  waste  of  water;  the  disposal  of  sewage  must  be  carefully 
planned  so  as  to  prevent  the  pollution  of  the  streams;  and  if  the  valuable 
fisheries  in  the  tidal  and  fresh  water  portions  of  the  rivers  are  to  be  pre- 
served, careful  regulation  will  be  necessary.  In  a  word,  the  necessity 
for  a  permanent  waterways  commission  in  Great  Britain  is  becoming 
apparent. 

Fra-nce. — France  has  developed  her  inland  waterways  more  system- 
atically and  completely  than  has  any  other  of  the  larger  European 
countries;  3,062  miles  of  canals  are  now  in  operation  and  4,500  miles  of 
her  rivers — largely  as  the  result  of  canalization — are  used  for  navigation. 
Prior  to  1880,  the  greater  portion  of  the  freight  business  of  the  country 
was  handled  on  the  waterways.  Since  then  the  development  of  the 
railroads  has  naturally  enabled  them  to  exceed  the  waterways  in  tonnage; 
but  the  waterways  have,  none  the  less,  transported  a  steadily  increasing 
tonnage.  During  the  twenty  years  from  1885  to  1905  the  freight  ton- 
nage rose  from  19,573,000  to  34,030,000  metric  tons.  The  ton  mileage 
of  the  water-borne  traffic  amounted  to  3,178,000,000  in  1905  and  was 
more  than  double  the  total  for  1885.  All  the  waterways  of  the  country, 
with  the  exception  of  160  miles  (75  of  which  are  owned  by  the  city  of 
Paris)  are  public  ways  improved  and  maintained  by  the  State.  Their 
use  is  free,  tolls  having  been  abolished  in  1880. 

Germany. — The  policy  of  Germany  in  the  development  of  her  inland 
waterways  is  peculiarly  instructive.  The  canals  and  navigable  rivers 
of  that  empire,  not  including  the  tidal  portions  of  the  rivers  navigated 
by  sea-going  vessels,  have  a  total  length  of  about  7,600  miles,  of  which 
about  6,250  miles  may  be  considered  to  be  commercially  important. 
Three-tenths  of  the  6,250  miles  consist  of  canals  and  slack  water  river 
navigation,  and  seven-tenths  of  river  courses  improved  without  the 
construction  of  dams  and  locks.  The  railway  mileage  of  the  country 
is  34,000,  somewhat  over  six  times  the  length  of  the  waterways  actively 
used  for  commerce. 

The  tonnage  of  the  shipments  and  receipts  of  freight  transported  on 
the  German  waterways  in  1875  was  20,800,000  metric  tons.  The  figures 
for  1905  were  103,400,000  metric  tons,  there  having  been  an  increase  of 
nearly  400%.  The  ton  mileage  of  this  water-borne  commerce  in  1875 
was  1,812,500,000,  and  in  1905,  9,375,000,000 — a  gain  of  over  400%. 
The  ton  mileage  of  the  railroad  freight  traffie  in  1875  was  6,812,500,000, 
and  in  1905  the  total  was  27,875,000,000.  The  gain  in  the  railroad 
traffic  was  far  greater  absolutely;  but  the  percentage  of  increase  in  water 
traffic  was  larger,  although  the  length  of  the  waterways  in  1905  was 
not  iimkIi  greater  than  in  1875,  whereas  the  railway  mileage  had  more 
than  doubh  d  during  thai  period. 

(278) 


Statement  by  Professor  Emory  R.  Johnson 


The  density  of  traffic  on  the  German  waterways  much  exceeds  that 
on  the  railroads.  The  number  of  tons  carried  one  mile  per  mile  of 
waterway  rose  from  290,000  in  1875  to  1,500,000  in  1905;  the  corre- 
sponding figures  for  the  railways  were  410,000  tons  carried  one  mile  per 
mile  of  line  in  1875,  and  820,000  in  1905.  The  relative  importance  of 
the  traffic  of  the  railways  and  waterways  in  Germany  is  shown  by  the 
fact  that  25%  of  the  total  ton  mileage  of  rail  and  water  traffic  in  1905 
was  water-borne,  and  75%  moved  upon  rails.  Thirty  years  earlier  the 
waterways  had  21%  and  the  railroads  had  79%  of  the  combined  ton 
mileage." 

These  brief  references  to  England,  France,  and  Germany  suffice  to  show 
that  the  United  States  has  as  yet  done  less  than  has  been  done  by  her 
leading  industrial  and  commercial  rivals  in  the  development  and  use  of 
inland  waterways,  if  we  except — as  of  course  we  ought — the  chain  of 
Great  Lakes  which  have  no  counterpart  in  any  other  country.  Whether 
it  is  desirable  that  the  United  States  should  follow  the  example  of  France 
and  Germany  as  regards  inland  water  transportation  is  a  question  to 
which"  the  American  people  are  now  giving  serious  thought.  There  can 
be  no  uncertainty  as  to  the  importance  of  the  transportation  services 
performed  by  our  coastwise  shipping,  and  by  the  fleet  operated  on  the 
Great  Lakes.  The  coastwise  and  Great  Lakes  traffic  is  rapidly  growing; 
but  upon  our  canals  and  many  of  our  rivers,  traffic  languishes  or  declines. 

Is  it  wise,  it  may  be  asked,  for  the  United  States  to  spend  money  in 
constructing  canals  and  improving  our  rivers,  and  if  so  under  what  con- 
ditions and  to  what  extent?  This  is  too  large  a  question  for  one  to 
attempt  to  answer  fully  in  a  short  paper,  the  primary  purpose  of  which 
is  to  present  data  rather  than  to  draw  conclusions;  but  some  indication 
as  to  what  policy  may  best  be  adopted  may  be  given  by  calling  attention 
briefly  to  the  causes  that  account  for  the  decline  in  canal  and  river  traffic 
and  by  stating  certain  facts  which  seem  to  indicate  that  well-developed 
inland  waterways  may  assist  largely  in  the  future  economic  progress  of 
our  country. 

CAUSES   OF   THE    DECLINE    IN    CANAL    AND    RIVER    TRAFFIC 

The  causes  accounting  for  the  decline  in  the  traffic  upon  our  canals  and 
rivers  have  been  so  clearly  stated  by  the  President  in  his  addresses  and  in 
his  special  message  of  February  26,  1908,  transmitting  to  Congress  the 
preliminary  report  of  the  Inland  Waterways  Commission,  and  the  same 
subject  has  been  so  fully  presented  in  that  report  that  a  detailed  discus- 
sion of  those  causes  seems  unnecessary. 


a  Consult  Appendix  V  for  tables  showing  rail  and  water  traffic  in  Germany. 

(279) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

The  primary  reason  for  the  decline  in  the  use  of  canals  of  such  small 
dimensions  and  river  channels  so  shallow  as  to  permit  the  use  only  of 
craft  capable  of  transporting  ioo  to  200  tons  of  cargo,  is  to  be  found 
in  the  very  success  which  the  railways  of  the  United  States  have  had  in 
providing  cheap  transportation  for  heavy  and  bulky  commodities.  In 
no  other  country  of  the  world  have  rail  transportation  costs  been  reduced 
to  such  a  low  figure.  The  ability  of  our  railroads  to  handle  this  class  of 
traffic  so  economically  has  resulted  not  only  from  the  genius  of  the 
American  people  in  the  use  of  machinery  to  do  man's  heavy  work,  but 
also,  and  more  largely,  from  the  fact  that  by  far  the  greater  share  of  the 
tonnage  of  American  railroads  consists  of  such  bulky  commodities  as 
coal,  iron  ore,  lumber  and  grain,  which  can  be  handled  not  only  in  car- 
load lots  but  in  train-loads,  and  which,  from  the  very  size  of  our  country, 
must  be  moved  long  distances  in  order  to  reach  the  manufacturing  centers 
of  the  United  States  and  the  primary  markets  within  and  without  our 
borders. 

In  many  other  countries  it  has  been  found  more  economical  to  do  the 
heavier  transportation  work  by  making  large  use  of  waterways,  and  to 
develop  the  railway  traffic  more  particularly  with  reference — and  this  is 
especially  the  case  in  England,  France  and  Germany — to  the  speedy 
movement  and  schedule  delivery  of  parcels,  packages  and  general  com- 
modity freight.  This  organization  of  the  transportation  service  by  rail 
is  possible  where  there  is  a  division  of  the  transportation  work  between 
the  railroads  and  waterways,  and  it  results  in  the  close  co-ordination  of 
railroad  freight  traffic  with  the  wholesale  and  retail  trade.  It  enables 
merchants  and  manufacturers  to  reduce  capital  costs  and  warehousing 
expenses  to  a  minimum.  It  meets  the  needs  of  densely  populated  and 
highly  developed  industrial  countries  such  as  France  and  Germany,  and 
especially  of  such  a  country  as  Great  Britain,  for,  although  the  inland 
waterways  of  Great  Britain  are,  as  a  whole,  less  carefully  developed  than 
are  those  of  France  and  Germany,  a  large  share  of  the  domestic  commerce 
of  the  United  Kingdom  is  carried  by  water.  The  navigation  services 
which  most  countries  can  secure  only  by  means  of  inland  waterways,  the 
island  of  Great  Britain,  with  its  3,900  miles  of  tidal  coast,  obtains  upon 
the  surrounding  ocean — the  best  of  all  highways. 

Such  an  organization  of  the  business  of  transportation  as  has  been 
worked  out  in  the  three  European  countries  just  mentioned  does  not 
result  in  as  low  average  freight  rates  by  rail  as  prevail  in  the  United  States; 
but  the  costs  of  wholesale  and  retail  distribution  and  of  many  manufac- 
turing activities  are  undoubtedly  less  than  they  would  be  were  the  people 
of  Europe  served  almost  entirely  by  railroads  and  not  by  railroads  and 
waterways.  ()ur  dependence  upon  railroads,  almost  exclusively,  for  the 
tno\  1  .1.'  nt  of  bulky  commodities  long  distances  even  at  low  average  rates, 

(280) 


Statement  by  Professor  Emory  R.  Johnson 


while  we  at  the  same  time  neglect  the  development  and  use  of  our  inland 
waterways,  does  not  necessarily  mean  that  we  have  organized  our  work  of 
production  and  distribution  in  the  most  economical  manner.  Indeed, 
there  can  be  little  doubt  that  as  social  and  industrial  conditions  in  the 
'United  States  approach  more  closely  those  prevailing  in  Europe,  we  shall 
find  it  increasingly  desirable  to  provide  ourselves  both  with  well-developed 
waterways  for  handling  much  of  our  bulky  traffic  and  with  railroads  more 
efficient  than  present  conditions  permit  them  to  be  in  the  handling  of 
package  freight.  We,  as  well  as  Europe,  will  find  it  profitable  to  mini- 
mize capital  and  warehousing  costs. 

The  construction  of  canals  and  the  improvement  of  rivers  in  the  United 
States  have  progressed  slowly,  in  part  at  least,  because  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment has  in  the  past  left  to  the  States  the  work  of  canal  building,  and,  to 
some  extent,  the  canalization  of  rivers.  Several  of  the  States,  after  hav- 
ing made  costly  mistakes  in  the  execution  of  their  earlier  works  of  internal 
improvement,  have  been  disposed  to  leave  to  private  capital  the  creation 
of  such  waterways  as  special  business  interests  might  find  it  profitable  to 
establish.  In  many  instances  the  States  have  thought  best  to  dispose  of 
their  waterways  to  the  railroad  companies,  which  have  generally  found 
it  unprofitable  to  maintain  both  rail  and  water  routes.  The  policy  of 
leaving  the  development  of  water  transportation  to  any  considerable 
extent  either  to  the  States  or  to  private  corporations,  is  now  realized  to 
be  wrong  in  theory  and  unsatisfactory  in  practice. 

The  States  are  manifestly  incompetent  to  carry  out  the  improvement 
of  our  national  waterways,  such  as  the  Mississippi,  Ohio,  Missouri  and 
Columbia  rivers.  Their  development  has  always  been  a  national  con- 
cern. The  construction  of  such  waterways  as  the  Erie  and  Panama 
canals  are  clearly  works  that  private  capital  is  neither  able  nor  disposed 
to  execute.  The  great  State  of  New  York  has  the  financial  ability  and 
economic  incentive  to  reconstruct  the  Erie  canal;  but  its  route  is  so 
clearly  national  that  the  waterway  should  long  since  have  been  taken 
over  and  enlarged  by  the  Federal  Government. 

The  experience  of  our  own  country  and  of  other  nations  shows  con- 
clusively that  waterways  should  be  public  ways — that  their  execution 
and  maintenance  should  be  by  the  Government.  The  entire  network 
of  American  waterways  should  be  improved  and  extended  systematically 
by  one  authority,  and  with  reference  to  the  economic  and  social  needs 
of  the  entire  nation.  There  is  only  one  power  whose  authority  is  as 
wide  as  our  country,  and  that  is  the  Federal  Government.  In  the 
future  but  small  place  in  the  development  and  control  of  waterways  will 
be  given  either  to  the  States  or  to  private  corporations. 


(281) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


WELL-DEVELOPED  INLAND  WATERWAYS  WILL   AID   OUR  FUTURE   ECONOMIC 

PROGRESS 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  inland  waterways  of  the  United  States 
will  be  more  extensively  used  in  the  future  than  they  have  been  in  the 
past.     The  reasons  for  this  are  conclusive: 

i .  The  internal  commerce  of  the  United  States  is  growing  rapidly  and 
is  certain  to  increase  with  accelerating  speed.  The  demands  for  trans- 
portation facilities  are  expanding  so  swiftly  as  to  make  it  apparent  that 
the  products  of  our  farms,  mines,  forests,  and  factories  can  not  secure 
ready  and  economical  transportation  unless  at  least  the  larger  trunk  line 
water  routes  of  the  country  are  adapted  to  the  needs  of  commerce. 

2.  The  necessity  for  the  development  of  our  waterways  is  emphasized 
by  the  fact  that  any  considerable  future  reductions  in  the  costs  of  rail 
transportation  are  improbable.  Indeed,  for  reasons  that  have  already 
been  stated  in  this  paper,  the  service  of  American  railroads  may  be 
expected  to  be  developed  in  the  future  more  and  more  with  reference  to 
handling  commodities  expeditiously  and  in  small  units.  That  is  what  is 
taking  place  in  other  countries;  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  our 
experience  will  differ  greatly  from  theirs.  The  economy  of  employing 
both  railroads  and  waterways  for  the  performance  of  the  transportation 
services  becomes  greater  in  every  country  and  in  particular  sections  of  a 
country  with  the  increase  in  population  and  the  development  and 
specialization  of  industry. 

3.  American  waterways  will,  in  the  years  to  come,  be  utilized  more 
for  navigation,  because  we  are  certain,  sooner  or  later,  to  conserve  and 
use  the  entire  water  resources  of  the  country  simultaneously  not  only 
for  navigation,  but  also  for  irrigation,  for  water  power,  and  for  supplying 
our  urban  populations  with  pure  water.  Moreover,  the  growing  necessity 
for  controlling  our  streams  so  as  to  make  possible  the  reclamation  of  our 
vast  areas  of  reclaimable  lands  will  tend  to  hasten  the  time  when  our 
principal  waterways  will  be  so  regulated  as  to  be  serviceable  for  navigation. 

In  the  past  we  have  permitted  the  reckless  destruction  of  our  forests, 
and  it  has  been  our  practice  to  let  the  streams  spread  their  floods  destruc- 
tively over  their  valleys  and  hurry  their  surplus  water  to  the  sea.  We 
can  not  long  afford  to  be  so  wasteful  of  one  of  our  greatest  natural 
resources.  We  ought  to,  and  we  shall,  reforest  our  wild  mountain  areas, 
we  shall  hold  back  the  flood  waters  to  irrigate  our  arid  lands,  to  turn  the 
wheels  of  industry,  to  maintain  the  channels  of  navigation,  to  give  the 
as  and  cities  their  water  supply,  and  to  equalize  the  seasonal  flow  of 
our  rivers  so  that  neither  flood  nor  low  water  shall  be  a  recurring  menace 
to  life  and  property. 


(282) 


Statement  by  Professor  Emory  R.  Johnson 


APPENDIX  I 

Table  i — Congre:sional  appropriations  for  the  survey,  improvement,  and  maintenance 
of  harbors  and  waterways  of  the  United  States,  by  periods  and  divisions 


Date  of 
earliest 
appro- 
pria- 
tion 

Appropriations 

Division 

Total 

Up  to  and  in- 
cluding 1890 

1891  to  1906, 
inclusive 

March  2, 

1907 

Total 

1802 

1802 
1826 
1852 
1823 
1819 
1836 
1824 

0  8552,943.  025 

$214,039,886 

$301,  447,046 

$37. 456. 093 

Atlantic  coast 

141, 162, 391 
64,  292,  362 
34,061,  782 
97. 79i. 108 

208, 484, 720 
1. 347. 9io 

b  5,802,752 

56,448,541 
21, 065, 470 
10, 248, 592 

37.522,937 

84, 211, 783 

1,  133,660 

3,408,903 

73,821,326 

38,027,940 

21, 204, 844 

50,980, 283 

115,457,054 

211, 750 

1.743.849 

10,892,  524 

Gulf  of  Mexico 

5.  198,952 

Pacific  coast 

2,  608,  346 

Great  Lakes 

9,  287,888 

Mississippi  valley 

Lake  Champlain- 

General 

8,815,883 

2,500 

650, 000 

<*  Does  not  include  appropriations  for  the  following:  California  Debris  Commission,  Permanent 
International  Commission  of  Congresses  of  Navigation,  International  Waterway  Commission, 
improvement  of  harbors  and  waterways  in  insular  possessions,  prevention  of  deposits  in  New  York 
harbor,  bridge  construction. 

b  Includes  general  appropriation  items  for  removal  of  wrecks,  examinations,  surveys,  and  contin- 
gencies which  are  not  capable  of  being  segregated  according  to  divisions. 


Up  to  and  including  1890  the  congressional  appropriations  amounted  to  38.7%  of 
the  total  shown  in  this  table.  From  1891  to  1906,  inclusive,  54.5%  of  the  total  was 
appropriated,  while  the  rivers  and  harbors  act  of  March  2,  1907,  authorized  the 
expenditure  of  6.8%.  The  waterways  of  the  Mississippi  valley,  including  the  Red 
river  (of  the  North),  have  received  37.7%  of  all  congressional  appropriations  for  the 
improvement  and  maintenance  of  harbors  and  waterways;  the  harbors  and  streams 
of  the  Atlantic  coast,  25.5%;  those  of  the  Great  Lakes,  17.7%;  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
including  the  delta  and  passes  of  the  Mississippi,  11.6%;  the  Pacific  coast,  6.2  %  ;  and 
Lake  Champlain,  two-tenths  of  1  %. 

Table  2 — Comparative   summary — number,  mileage  {including  slack  water),  and  cost 
of  canals  and  canalized  rivers  in  the  United  States,  1906,  1880,  and  1880 


Number: 
1906 
1889 
1880 

Mileage: 
1906 
1889 
1880 

Cost: 

1906 
1889 
1880 


State  and  pri- 
vate canals 

29 
37 
39 

2,  046 
2,  264 
2,  746 

.  01 
.60 

.  18 

$213, 797. 
150, 481 , 
167, 205, 

297 
825 
810 

Government 
canals 


12 
9 
2 


78.19 
40.63 


526,  524,  588 

20. 517,  133 

7,  832,009 


Canalized 
rivers 


23 

21 
II 

I, 520. 40 

I, 078. 04 

479. 60 

842.886,978 

17, l86, 92  2 

8,914.483 


Total 


64 

67 
52 

3,644.60 
3.383- 27 
3.23S78 

5283,  208,863 
188,  185,880 
183.952,302 


56254—09- 


(283) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


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(284) 


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Statement  by  Professor  Emory  R.  Johnson 


APPENDIX  III 

Table  i — Freight  carried   and  income   received  for  freight,  exclusive  of  harbor  work, 

by  divisions,  igo6 


Division 

Freight 
(net  tons) 

Per  cent 
of  total 

Income 

Per  cent 
of  total 

Total. 

177.520, 799 

100.  0 

$i75.545.36i 

0 

Atlantic  coast  and  Gulf  of  Mexico 

Pacific  coast  (including  Alaska).     .. 

65.360,  958 

13.301,  293 

0 75, 610, 690 

19.  531.093 

3. 716,565 

36.8 

7-5 
42.  6 
1 1 .  0 

2.  1 

83, 890, 161 

29.  340,  102 

52,076,533 

7, 450, 869 

2, 787, 696 

47-8 
16.  7 
29.  7 

4-  2 

1   6 

Great  Lakes  and  St.  Lawrence  river 

Mississippi  river  and  its  tributaries 

All  other  inland  waters 

o  From  the  report  of  the  Bureau  of  Statistics  on  the  internal  commerce  of  the  United  States. 
Table  2 — Freight  transportation,  including  harbor  traffic,  by  divisions,  1006  and  1880 


Division 


Total 

Atlantic  coast  and  Gulf  of  Mexico.. 

Pacific  coast  (including  Alaska) 

Great  Lakes  and  St.  Lawrence  river 
Mississippi  river  and  its  tributaries.. 
All  other  inland  waters 


Census 


1906 

1889 

/  1906 
l  1889 
f  1906 
I  18S9 
I  1906 
t  1889 
f  1906 
)  1889 
f  1906 
I   1889 


Freight  car- 
ried (net 
tons) 


265,546,845 
129,  851,658 


140,  512,043 
52,  712,  124 
17,  622,  816 
11,  249.927 

a  75, 610, 690 
25,  266,  974 
27,856,641 
29,  401,  409 
3,944,655 
11, 221, 224 


Per  cent 
of  total 


100.  o 
100.  o 


52. 
40. 

6. 

8. 
28. 
19- 
10. 
22. 

I. 


8.6 


a  From  the  report  of  the  Bureau  of  Statistics  on  the  internal  commerce  of  the  United  States. 

APPENDIX  IV 

The  following  information  regarding  the  inland  waterways  of  the  United  Kingdom 
is  taken  from  a  paper  upon  "The  Inland  Waterways  of  Great  Britain  and  the  Plans 
under  Consideration  for  their  Improvement,"  by  Urquhart  Forbes,  Esq.,  London, 
England,  and  published  in  The  Annals  of  the  American  Academy  of  Political  and 
Social  Science,  January,  1908. 

EXTENT   OF   THE    BRITISH    INLAND   NAVIGATION    SYSTEM 

The  total  extent  of  the  waterways  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  as  stated  in  a 
Return  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  1 898,  which  is  the  latest  official  record  on  the  subject, 
is  3,906  miles  69!  chains,  the  mileage  of  those  in  England  and  Wales  being  returned 
as  3,167  miles  i6J  chains,  that  of  those  in  Scotland  153  miles  21  chains,  and  that  of 
those  in  Ireland  586  miles  32  chains.  This  estimate,  however,  can  only  be  taken  as 
approximately  correct.  It  omits  various  waterways  of  which  no  official  record  has 
been  preserved,  such  as  Milford  Haven,  one  of  the  finest  harbors  in  the  kingdom, 
which  has  between  twenty  and  thirty  miles  of  inland  navigation;  and  it  also  differs 
considerably  both  from  an  earlier  estimate  of  the  board  published  in  1883  and  from 
the  estimates  of  various  engineers  who  are  recognized  as  authorities  on  the  subject. 
The  discrepancy  between  these  various  estimates  appears  to  be  mainly  due  to  the 
omission  from  some  of  the  waterways  included  in  others  and  does  not  extend  to 
mileage,  and  a  comparison  of  their  details  with  those  given  in  the  Board  of  Trade 
Return  of  1898  shows  that,  after  deducting  607  miles  of  waterway  abandoned  or  con- 


(285) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


verted  into  railway,  the  inland  navigation  system  of  the  kingdom  comprises  about 
3,793  miles  in  England  and  Wales,  341  in  Scotland,  and  629  in  Ireland — a  total  of 
4,764  miles.  The  estimates  on  which  this  conclusion  is  based  are  given  in  the  sub- 
joined table." 


Hoard    of 
Trade  Re- 
turn, 1883 

MrCouder, 
1883 

Mr  Taun- 
ton,  1883 
(England, 
Wales,  and 
Scotland 
only) 

Mr  Lloyd, 

1883  (Eng- 
land and 
Wales) 

Mr  Wells, 
1895 (Eng- 
land and 
Wales) 

Mr  Vernon 
Harcourt, 

1899 

England  and  Wales 

2.688 

85 
256 

f        4.333 

I     "1,878 

354 

755 

2.451 

637' 

190 

3.  742 
6308 

3.  920 
64I5 

3.374 

Scotland.   _ 

Ireland . 

Total.. 

3.029 

7.320 

3.012 

4.050 

4.335 

4,  106 

o  Feeders. 


6  Derelict. 


To  these  estimates  may  be  added  that  of  Mr  Rudolph  de  Salis  for  England  and 
Wales,  as  given  in  Bradshaw's  Canals  and  Navigable  Rivers  of  England  and  Wales, 
where  the  mileage  for  those  countries  is  given  as  3,915  miles,  842  miles  of  which  are 
tidal  and  3,073  non-tidal. 

EARLY    DEVELOPMENT.^ 

During  the  seventeenth  century  this  system  of  natural  waterways  was  developed 
by  a  series  of  acts  of  Parliament  empowering  private  individuals  and  bodies  of  indi- 
viduals to  improve  the  navigation  of  rivers  and  to  make  others  not  previously  so, 
navigable.  This  movement  was  followed  by  the  initiation  by  Brindley  in  1795  of 
what  may  be  termed  the  "canal  era,"  during  which  all  the  navigable  rivers  of  the 
kingdom  were  gradually  connected  with  each  other  by  means  of  a  network  of  canals 
constructed  by  private  enterprise  in  order  to  provide  for  the  needs  of  different  locali- 
ties. In  England  and  Wales  the  development  of  inland  navigation,  which  began  in 
1423  with  an  act  for  removing  obstructions  in  the  Thames,  may  be  said  to  have 
practically  ended  with  the  completion  of  the  Manchester  ship  canal  in  1894,  and  has 
thus  extended  over  four  and  a  half  centuries.  In  Ireland  it  began  only  in  1715,  with 
the  improvement  of  the  Maigue  river,  and  ended  with  the  completion  of  the  Ballina- 
more  canal  in  1859;  and  in  Scotland  it  was  limited  to  the  eighty-eight  years  between 
the  passing  of  the  first  Clyde  improvement  act  in  1759  and  the  completion  of  the 
Caledonian  canal  in  1847. 

VARIETIES  OP   WATERWAYS 

It  has,  however,  proceeded  on  the  same  lines  in  each  of  the  three  kingdoms,  the 
inland  navigation  systems  of  each  of  which  include  the  three  following  varieties  of 
waterway: 

1.  Tidal  navigable  rivers,  the  soil  of  the  bed  of  which  is  vested  in  the  Crown  for 
the  benefil  of  the  public,  and  on  which  all  the  subjects  of  the  Crown  enjoy  the  right 
of  free  navigation 

>i  the  following  estimates,  those  of  Mr  Couder,  C.  K.,  Mr  Taunton,  C.  E.,  and 
Mr  Lloyd,  C.  E.,  were  prepared  for  the  select  committee  on  canals,  1883;  that  of 
Mr  Wells,  C.  !•;.,  for  the  Birmingham  Conference,  1898,  on  Inland  Navigation,  organ- 
ized by  the  [n  ititution  of  Mining  Engineers;  and  that  of  the  late  Mr  Vernon  Har- 
court, C.  E.,  is  contained  in  a  paper  on  the  subject  read  before  the  Society  of  Arts, 
To  these  might  be  added,  did  space  permit,  an  estimate  of  the  Irish  water- 
way system  contained  in  the  report  of  a  commission  on  the  subject,  of  1882,  which 
gives  the  tOl  'I  extent    I  I  708  miles  20  1  hiins. 

(286) 


Statement  by  Professor  Emory  R.  Johnson 


2.  Non-tidal  rivers  which  have  been  made  navigable,  and  tidal  rivers  the  navigation 
of  which  above  the  tideway  has  been  improved  under  an  act  of  Parliament,  the  owner- 
ship of  the  soil  of  which  is,  in  both  cases,  for  the  purposes  of  navigation  only,  vested 
in  commissioners  or  conservators  appointed  under  the  act  who  are  entitled  to  demand 
tolls  for  the  use  of  the  river,  which  are  devoted  solely  to  the  maintenance  of  the 
navigation. 

3.  Canals  constructed  by  private  enterprise  by  companies  incorporated  under 
special  acts,  who  are  the  sole  owners  of  their  respective  undertakings  and  are  entitled 
to  all  the  profits  accruing  from  the  tolls  payable  under  these  acts  by  the  public  for 
their  use. 

STATE   OWNERSHIP    AND   CONTROL, 

In  England  and  Wales  state  ownership  of  waterways  is  limited  to  the  soil  of  the 
bed  of  tidal  rivers,  as  above  mentioned,  and  the  state  has  never  contributed  in  any 
way  to  the  development  of  water  conservancy.     In  both  Scotland  and  Ireland,  how- 
ever, it  has  not  only  made  large  grants  from  the  treasury  for  this  purpose— the  total 
expenditure  on  the  Caledonian  canal  in  the  former  country,  for  instance,  amounted 
to  £1,280,000,  and  the  grants  for  the  Royal  canal  of  Ireland  to  £359,776— but  is  also 
the  owner  of  the  Caledonian  canal  (constructed  entirely  by  it)  and  the  Crinan  canal 
in  Scotland  and  of  the  Maigue,   Boyne,  Tyrone  and  Shannon  river  navigations  in 
Ireland,  where  it  also  originally  owned  both  the  Grand  and  the  Ulster  canals.     The 
Board  of  Trade  is  the  central  authority  for  the  control  of  inland  navigation,  and  has 
the  power  of  providing  for  the  inspection  of  waterways  the  condition  of 'which  is 
dangerous  to  the  public,  or  liable  to  cause  obstruction  to  traffic,  and  for  their  transfer 
to  local  authorities,  or,  if  necessary,  their  abandonment.     English  canal  companies 
are  also  required  to  send  to  the  registrar  of  joint  stock  companies  annual  returns 
stating  the  address  of  the  office  and  principal  officers  of  the  company;  and  the  govern- 
ing authorities  of  all  waterways  are  under  the  obligation  of  furnishing  the  Board  of 
Trade,  when  required  to  do  so,  with  particulars  respecting  their  works,  capacity  for 
traffic,  and  capital,  revenue,  expenditure  and  profits/*     The  Caledonian  and  Crinan 
canals  in  Scotland  are  controlled  by  commissioners  appointed  by  the  Crown,  and  those 
owned  by  the  state  in  Ireland  by  the  commissioners  of  public  works  in  that  country, 
and  both  of  these  bodies  report  annually  to  Parliament. 

CONSERVANCY   AUTHORITIES 

The  governing  bodies  of  the  different  waterways  comprised  in  the  British  inland 
navigation  system  vary  very  greatly  both  in  size  and  constitution,  and  in  addition  to 
the  canal  companies  include  bodies  of  conservators,  commissioners,  port  and  harbor 
authorities  and  municipal  corporations.  The  conservancy  authorities  of  a  few  of  the 
more  important  rivers  are  of  a  representative  character.  The  conservators  of  the 
river  Thames,  for  instance,  are  thirty-eight  in  number  and  include  representatives 
of  the  Admiralty  and  two  other  government  departments,  of  the  city  and  the  county 
of  London,  of  the  London  Water  Board,  and  of  the  county  or  borough  councils  of  the 
eleven  counties  traversed  by  the  river.  The  thirty  commissioners  of  the  Severn 
represent  the  counties  of  Gloucestershire  and  Worcestershire,  and  the  corporations  of 
all  the  towns  on  the  banks  of  the  river  from  Bristol  to  Wenlock  in  Salop,  while  the 
tidal  portions  of  both  the  Mersey  and  the  Clyde  are  controlled  by  trusts  on' which  the 
municipalities  of  Liverpool  and  Glasgow  are  largely  represented,  as  well  as  the  con- 
servators of  the  navigation  of  those  rivers. 

a  This  power  has  been  exercised  by  the  board  only  twice  since  it  was  first  conferred 
on  it  by  the  Railway  and  Canal  Traffic  Act,  1888. 

(287) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

o 

GROUPS   OK    WATERWAYS    IN    ENGLAND 

The  waterways  of  England  and  Wales  are  divisible  into  six  groups,  one  of  which 
has  its  center  in  Birmingham,  while  the  other  five  unite  wholly  or  partially  in  the 
estuaries  of  the  Humber,  Mersey,  Wash,  Thames  and  Severn.  The  Thames  and 
Severn  are  united  by  64S  miles  of  waterway;  the  Thames  and  Humber  by  537  miles; 
the  Severn  and  Mersey  by  832  miles  and  the  Mersey  and  Humber  by  680  miles,  while 
the  ten  waterways  flowing  into  the  Wash  have  an  extent  of  431  miles.  London  is 
connected  with  Liverpool  by  three  through  routes,  with  Hull  by  two  and  with  the 
Severn  ports  by  four;  Liverpool  with  the  Severn  ports  by  two,  with  Hull  by  three, 
with  the  South  Staffordshire  mineral  districts  by  two;  and  the  last-named  districts 
with  the  Severn  ports  by  three  routes.  Though,  however,  nine  of  these  nineteen 
through  routes  terminate  in  the  Severn  ports  and  nine  in  London  as  against  ten  in 
Liverpool  and  five  in  Hull,  the  southern  waterways  are  now  of  far  less  importance 
than  those  of  the  northern  counties.  No  less  than  23,500,000  tons  of  37,426,886 
which  according  to  the  Board  of  Trade  returns,  1898,  was  the  total  traffic  on  English 
and  Welsh  waterways  in  that  year,  was  concentrated  round  an  area  bounded  by  the 
Birmingham  and  Shropshire  Union  canals,  the  Leeds  and  Liverpool  canal,  the  Aire 
and  Calder  navigation,  the  Don  navigation,  a  line  from  Sheffield  to  Stoke,  and  the 
Trent  and  Mersey  navigation — a  mining  and  manufacturing  district,  the  waterways 
of  which  have  a  united  length  of  only  642  miles.  The  traffic  of  the  Birmingham  canals 
amounts  to  7,750,000  tons;  that  of  three  other  systems  of  waterways  within  this 
area  to  between  2,000,000  and  3,000,000  tons;  that  of  three  to  between  1,000,000 
and  2,000,000  tons;  and  that  of  seven  to  between  500,000  and  1,000,000  tons.  Only 
three  waterways  within  this  district  have  less  than  100,000  tons  traffic,  but  the  Grand 
Junction  canal  is  the  only  waterway  extending  into  the  southern  counties  which  has 
a  traffic  exceeding  1,000,000  tons,  and  only  three  (the  Stafford  and  Worcester  canal, 
the  river  Lea  and  the  Thames  between  Oxford  and  London)  have  a  traffic  exceeding 
500,000  tons. 

SCOTTISH    WATERWAYS 

In  Scotland,  though  the  Tay — navigable  for  95  miles  up  to  Perth  for  vessels  of  200 
tons — the  Tweed  and  the  Dee  have  been  utilized  for  purposes  of  navigation,  the 
Clyde  and  the  Forth  are  the  only  two  navigable  rivers  of  importance.  The  country 
possesses  only  five  canals,  two  of  which,  the  Caledonian  and  the  Crinan,  though 
remarkable  as  engineering  works,  have  proved  of  little  value  for  purposes  of  trade, 
and  in  1898,  when  the  total  traffic  amounted  to  only  1,223,304  tons,  the  only  water- 
ways having  a  traffic  exceeding  100,000  tons  were  the  Forth  and  Clyde  navigation 
and  the  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow  Union  canals.  Scotland,  however,  possesses  special 
advantages  as  regards  inland  navigation  in  the  extent  and  number  of  its  navigable 
lakes  and  in  the  fact  that  the  firths  of  its  two  principal  rivers — the  Forth  and  the 
Clyde — are  not  separated  by  any  range  of  hills  and  penetrate  the  plain  between  them 
on  opposite  sides,  dividing  the  country,  the  breadth  of  which  is  there  reduced  to  50 
miles,  in  halves. 

IRISH    WATERWAYS 

Ireland,  which,  like  Scotland,  has  numerous  large  navigable  lakes,  has  an  excellent 
system  of  waterways,  which  comprises  both  the  longest  river  and  one  of  the  most 
extensive  canals  in  the  United  Kingdom — the  Shannon,  143  of  the  256  miles  of  which 
are  navigable,  and  the  Grand  canal,  which  is  163  miles  long  and  has  ten  branches. 
Owing,  however,  probably  to  the  absence  of  manufacturing  and  mining  industries 
in  the  country,  the  total  traffic  in  1898  amounted  to  only  708,174$  tons,  309,288  tons 
'■f  which  was  concentrated  on  the  Grand  canal,  which,  with  the  Lagan  canal,  with  a 

(288) 


Statement  by  Professor  Emory  R.  Johnson 


traffic  of  171,784  tons,  are  the  only  two  on  which  the  traffic  exceeded  100,000  tons, 
while  the  Shannon,  with  83,688  tons,  was  the  only  waterway  on  which  it  exceeded 
50,000  tons. 

PRINCIPAL  RIVERS  OF  THE   UNITED  KINGDOM 

The  rivers  of  the  United  Kingdom  with  the  greatest  extent  of  navigation  are  the 
Thames,  215  miles  long,  which  is  navigable  for  145  miles;  the  Severn,  about  two- 
thirds  of  the  200  miles  of  which  are  navigable;  the  Shannon,  navigable  for  143  miles 
out  of  its  total  length  of  256  miles,  and  the  river  Forth,  in  Scotland,  which,  though 
only  72  miles  long,  is  navigable  for  50  miles.  The  short  tidal  navigations  of  the 
Tyne,  Wear,  Tees  and  Humber,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Clyde,  Mersey,  Ribble  and 
Bristol  Avon  on  the  west  coast,  though  none  of  them  much  exceed  20  miles  in 
length,  are,  however,  of  far  greater  importance  for  commercial  purposes. 

THE   MANCHESTER   SHIP   CANAL 

The  most  important  of  the  British  canals,  both  commercially  and  from  an  engineer- 
ing point  of  view,  is  the  Manchester  ship  canal,  begun  in  1885  and  opened  for  traffic 
on  May  21.    1895,   on  which  £15,173,402   was  expended— a  total  which  included 
£1,786,313  paid  for  the  Bridgwater  canal  and  £1,214,451  for  compensation  paid  to 
various  bodies  possessing  vested  interests  in  the  land  it  traverses.     The  canal,  which 
is  35^  miles  long  and  from  which  no  less  than  53,000,000  cubic  yards  of  soil  were 
excavated,«  consists  of  three  sections.     The  first  of  these  runs  from  Eastham  to 
Runcorn,  near  or  through  the  Mersey  estuary,  a  distance  of  12  J  miles,  and  is  provided 
with  three  tidal  locks  with  chambers  600  feet  by  80  feet,  350  feet  by  50  feet,  and  150 
feet  by  30  feet,  with  sills  28  feet,  25  feet,  and  16  feet,  respectively,  below  the  normal 
water  level  of  the  canal.     The  second  section  runs  from  Runcorn  to  Latchford,  near 
Warrington,  8*  miles,  where  it  is  inland,  but  in  which  the  level  of  the  water  as  in  the 
first  section  is  raised  by  the  tides;  and  the  third  from  Latchford— where  the  locks 
stop  the  tidal  action  and  the  canal  is  fed  by  the  Mersey  and  Irwell  up  to  Manchester. 
One  of  the  most  notable  features  of  the  work  is  the  swing  aqueduct  for  the  Bridgwater 
canal,  the  first  of  its  kind,  by  means  of  which,  when  closed,  traffic  can  pass  along  the 
latter  canal  as  heretofore,  but  which  can  be  opened  to  allow  of  ships  crossing  it  on  the 
lower  level  of  the  ship  canal.     This  aqueduct,  constructed  by  Sir  E.  Leader  Williams 
to  replace  that  built  by  Brindley  136  years  previously,  was  the  first  "  fixed  "  aqueduct 
constructed  in  the  United  Kingdom.     It  may  be  added  that  the  Manchester  ship 
canal  is  the  first  large  ship  canal  constructed  with  locks  raising  vessels  6o£  feet  and 
transporting  them  inland. 

THE   CALEDONIAN   CANAL 

Though  it  failed  to  realize  the  main  objects  for  which  it  was  constructed,  the  Cale- 
donian canal,  having  regard  to  the  physical  difficulties  overcome  in  its  construction 
and  the  period  at  which  it  was  made,  must  be  regarded  as  being  scarcely  less  remark- 
able as  an  engineering  feat  than  the  Manchester  ship  canal.  Its  length  is  60  miles, 
37i  miles  of  which  consist  of  four  naturally  navigable  freshwater  lochs  connected  by 
a  series  of  canals  23  miles  in  length,  and  it  extends  diagonally  across  Scotland  from 
Fort  William  on  the  Atlantic  to  Clachnaharry  on  the  shore  of  Beauly  Firth  on  the 
North  Sea,  and  thus  provides  a  means  of  enabling  vessels  to  avoid  the  dangers  and 
delays  incident  to  the  500-mile  voyage  by  the  Orkneys  and  Cape  Wrath.  There  are 
docks  both  at  Corpach  and  Clachnaharry,  the  latter  of  which  cover  an  area  of  32 

«  Ninety-seven  excavators,    eight   large   bucket   ladder   dredgers  and    fifty-eight 
steam  navvies  were  employed  on  the  w«ork  besides  some  small  dredgers. 

(289) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


acres,  and  one  of  its  most  remarkable  features  is  a  series  of  eight  connected  locks, 
called  by  Telford  "Neptune's  Staircase,"  constructed  to  overcome  the  difficulty 
caused  by  the  difference  in  the  levels  between  Lochs  Lochy  and  Eil,  which,  though 
the  distance  is  only  iS  miles,  amounts  to  90  feet.  The  canal  is  one  of  the  finest 
monuments  of  Telford's  genius,  and  is  also  notable  as  the  only  British  waterway 
which  has  been  constructed  entirely  at  the  cost  of  and  has  always  remained  under 
the  control  of  the  state. 

THE  GRAND  CANAL  OF  IRELAND 

The  total  expenditure  by  the  state  on  the  Caledonian  canal  was  £1,300,000,  and  it 
also  contributed  £321,674  out  of  the  £1,370,000  expended  on  the  Grand  canal  in 
Ireland,  which  is  the  most  important  waterway  in  that  country,  and  though  its  total 
length  of  163  miles  is  exceeded  by  that  of  the  Shropshire  Union,  which  is  200  miles 
long,  it  is,  as  has  been  said,  the  most  extensive  waterway  in  the  United  Kingdom. 
It  extends  southward  from  Dublin  to  New  Ross  in  Wesford  and  westward  to  the 
Shannon  harbor,  where  the  trade-boats  of  the  company  transship  into  steamers 
plying  northwards  to  Athlone  and  southwards  to  Limerick,  while  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Shannon  it  runs  to  Ballinasloe  and  has  no  less  than  ten  branches  connecting  it 
with  the  Liffey  and  various  trading  centers. 

OTHER    ENGLISH   CANALS    AND   THEIR    EARNINGS 

Among  other  English  canals  the  next  in  length  to  the  Shropshire  Union  are  the 
Grand  Junction,  188  miles  long;  the  Birmingham  canals,  with  a  united  length  of  158 
miles,  and  the  Leeds  and  Liverpool  canal,  141  miles  long.  The  Birmingham  canals 
had,  according  to  the  Board  of  Trade  returns,  1898,  the  highest  net  revenue  earned 
by  British  canals  in  that  year,  £119,193,  as  against  £103,663  earned  by  the  Manchester 
ship  canal;  while  the  third  waterway  on  the  list  was  the  Aire  and  Calder  navigation, 
which,  though  only  85  miles  long,  had  a  net  revenue  of  £92,057,  as  against  £50,642 
earned  by  the  Leeds  and  Liverpool,  £48,840  earned  by  the  Grand  Junction,  £23,613 
by  the  Grand  canal,  Ireland,  and  only  £1,099  by  the  Shropshire  Union.  The  Aire 
and  Calder  and  the  Weaver  are  the  two  most  remunerative  of  the  river  navigations 
of  the  country,  and  over  1,000,000  tons  of  salt,  besides  a  considerable  trade  with  the 
potteries  in  coal,  timber,  cotton,  flint  and  clay  are  annually  carried  over  the  latter 
river,  which  has  been  canalized  for  50  miles  between  Northwich  and  Chester,  and  has 
four  large  locks  220  feet  long  by  42  feet  6  inches  wide,  and  having  15  feet  of  water  on 
the  sills. 

FINANCIAL    POSITION    OF    BRITISH    WATERWAYS    AND   ITS   CAUSES 

As  will  be  evident  from  the  above  figures  a  large  portion  of  the  inland  navigation 
system  of  the  United  Kingdom,  on  which  £14,000,000  had  been  expended  up  to  1830, 
has  ceased  to  be  remunerative.  No  less  than  39  out  of  the  99  waterways  of  England 
and  Wales  were  shown  by  the  return  of  1898  to  be  carried  on  at  loss,  and  of  the  126 
waterways  in  the  United  Kingdom  only  two  earned  net  incomes  exceeding  £100,000. 
Only  twelve  waterways  earned  incomes  between  £10,000  and  £100,000,  and  only 
fourteen  incomes  between  £1,000  and  £10,000.  Of  the  remainder  only  eleven  earned 
incomes  exceeding  £500;  and,  though  the  impoverished  condition  of  the  canal  com- 
panies and  navigation  authorities  is  partly  due  to  the  defective  and  obsolete  construc- 
tion of  a  majority  of  the  waterways,  the  number  of  conflicting  authorities  by  which 
they  are  governed  and  the  keen  competition  between  them,  it  is  primarily  attributable 
to  the  extensive  control  which  the  railway  companies  have  acquired  over  the  whole 
of  the  inland  navigation  system. 

(290) 


Statement  by  Professor  Emory  R.  Johnson 


APPENDIX  V 

The  following  information  regarding  mileage  and  traffic  of  the  German  waterways 
and  railways  is  taken  from  a  paper  on  "The  Present  Significance  of  German  Inland 
Waterways,"  by  Prof  Walther  Lotz,  of  the  University  of  Munich,  Germany,  and  pub- 
lished in  The  Annals  of  the  American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Science,  Jan- 
uary, 1908. 
German  navigable  waterways,  not  including  river  mouths  navigable  by  sea-going  ships 


Length km-- 

Arrived - tons.. 

Departed tons.. 

Net  ton  kilometers  ° 

Kilometric  traffic  & 

Average  distance  transported km.. 

German  railroads 


187s 


10, 000 

1 i, 000, 000 

9, 8oo, 000 

2, 900, 000, 000 

290, 000 

280 


1905 


10, 000 

56, 400, oco 

47, 000, 000 

15 , 000, 000, 000 

1, 500,000 

290 


Length km 

Ton  kilometers 

Kilometric  traffic -  -  - 

Average  distance  transported km 

Per  cent  of  total  traffic: 

Inland  waterways 

Railroads 


187S 


26, 500 

10, 900, 000, 000 

410, 000 

125 


21 
79 


I9°5 


54. 400 

44, 600, 000, 000 

820, 000 

151 


25 
75 


o  There  are  three  ways  in  which  the  statistics  of  traffic  may  be  presented:  The  first  possibility  is 
to  ask  how  many  tons  have  passed  on  a  certain  route.  The  second,  to  consider  the  weight  and  dis- 
tance carried  thus  arriving  at  a  ton  kilometer  basis,  viz.,  determining  how  often  one  ton  has  been 
moved  one  kilometer  on  a  route.  The  third  possibility  is  to  determine  the  kilometric  traffic. 
The  whole  number  of  kilometric  tons  is  divided  by  the  length  of  the  route,  and  it  is  found  what 
part  of  the  entire  traffic  carried  falls  upon  the  average  kilometer.  This  is  the  best  method  of  com- 
parison where  we  are  interested  in  what  the  waterway  and  railroads  actually  accomplish  for  traffic. 
The  above  figures  from  Sympher  are  to  be  found  in  the  Zeitschrift  fur  Binnenschiffahrt,  1907, 

p.  496,  el  seq.  .     .  .  ,  „  „ 

i>  In  reckoning  average  distance  transported  it  is  sought  to  answer  the  following  question:  How 
many  kilometers  on  the  average  does  a  ton  of  freight,  once  delivered  to  the  waterway  or  railroad, 
travel  before  it  reaches  its  destination? 

If  it  be  correct  to  assume  that  the  length  of  the  navigable  waterways  remains  the 
same  in  1905  as  it  was  in  1875 — ten  thousand  kilometers — the  part  of  waterway  traffic 
in  the  total  traffic  (25  as  compared  with  21  %)  has  increased  more  than  the  per  cent 
of  the  rail  tonnage,  although  the  railways  rose  from  26,500  to  54,400  kilometers  in 

length. a 

Kilometric  traffic  was,  if  Sympher's  estimates  are  to  be  trusted,  much  smaller  by 
water  in  1875  than  upon  the  railroads.  In  1905  the  average  traffic  on  railroads  had 
risen  greatly,  but  that  upon  the  waterways  had  increased  even  more,  so  that  it  ( 1 ,500,000 
ton  kilometers)  exceeded  the  kilometric  traffic  of  the  railroads  (820,000  ton  kilo- 
meters) .  The  kilometric  traffic  of  the  German  waterways  at  the  present  time  is  greater 
than  that  upon  the  French  waterways.^ 

a  If  the  length  of  German  waterways  in  1900  be  taken  as  the  same  as  in  1875,  their 
character  was  markedly  improved.  Major  Kurs,  however,  reckons  the  length  of  the 
navigable  canals  and  rivers  in  Germany  in  1894  as  greater  than  that  given  by  Sym- 
pher, namely  12,223.02  kilometers.  Including  the  navigable  inland  seas  and  harbors, 
etc.,  Major  Kurs  counts  14,939.37  kilometers  in  Germany.  See  page  10  of  the  Tabu- 
lated Report  Concerning  the  Navigable  Waterways  and  the  Waterways  for  Rafting 
Timber  in  the  German  Empire.      (Major  Kurs,  Berlin,  1894.) 

6  The  kilometric  traffic  on  the  French  inland  waterways  is  given  by  Sympher  for 
1905  as  411,000,  as  compared  to  182,000  in  1875. 

(291) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

CONSERVATION  OF  POWER  RESOURCES 
H.  St.  Clair  Putnam,  LL.B.,  E.E. 

MEM.    A.    I.    E.    E.;    CONSULTING   ELECTRICAL   ENGINEER    (NEW   YORK) 

Without  disparaging  other  aspects  of  our  progress,  it  is  not  too  much 
to  say  that  our  time  is  preeminently  the  Age  of  Power.  This  applies  to 
the  world  at  large,  but  especially  to  the  United  States.  Our  population 
is  increasing  with  unprecedented  rapidity,  but  our  mineral  production 
is  increasing  so  much  more  rapidly  that  some  have  called  this  "the  Age 
of  Metal."  Steel,  copper,  and  wood  are  combined  in  mechanical  devices 
at  a  rate  increasing  more  rapidly  than  ore  production,  so  that  others  have 
characterized  this  as  the  "Age  of  the  Machine;"  yet  that  aspect  of  modern 
life  which  most  impresses  the  student  of  progress  is  the  increasing  use  of 
mechanical  power  through  the  development  of  prime  movers  and  the 
utilization  of  new  power  sources.  Rapidly  as  our  population  advances, 
it  is  outrun  by  metal  production,  and  that  in  turn  by  machine  building; 
yet  our  most  rapid  progress — the  feature  in  which  our  advancement  ex- 
ceeds all  others — is  in  the  development  and  use  of  Power. 

HISTORICAL    DIVISION 

Historically  considered,  the  utilization  of  our  power  resources  has  under- 
gone three  characteristic  phases  of  development. 

In  the  first,  power  was  produced  directly  by  natural  forces  such  as 
falling  water  and  wind  and  its  use  necessarily  was  limited  to  those  places 
where  these  natural  forces  were  found.  This  led  to  the  early  manu- 
facturing establishments  of  New  England  grouped  about  easily  available 
water  powers.  This  might  be  called  the  period  of  water  powers,  and 
in  this  country  it  held  ascendency  in  the  manufacturing  industries  until 
about  1870. 

The  second  phase  was  characterized  by  the  development  of  the  steam 
engine,  which  rendered  practicable  the  utilization  of  the  stored  energy 
in  fuel  as  a  source  of  power.  During  this  period  the  development  of 
coal  mines  and  rapid  growth  of  our  railway  systems  imparted  a  tremen- 
dous stimulus  to  commercial  enterprise.  Proximity  of  water  powers 
was  no  longer  controlling  and  factories  were  established  at  points  selected 
by  reason  of  the  availability  of  raw  material,  labor,  transportation  facili- 
ties and  markets,  as  well  as  power  supply.  As  in  the  first  period,  how- 
ever, the  power  necessarily  was  used  where  developed  and  the  size  of 
the  plant  was  limited  to  the  requirements  of  the  individual  user. 

(292) 


Statement  by  H.  St.  Clair  Putnam 


ELECTRIC   POWER  a 

Electrical  transmission  of  power  is  the  new  art  which  now  is  resulting 
in  another  and  radical  change  in  methods  of  utilizing  our  power  resources, 
permitting,  as  it  does,  development  whether  by  water  power  or  by  steam 
at  points  most  convenient  and  economical,  and  transmission  to  the  con- 
sumer in  form  adapted  to  great  variety  and  convenience  of  use.  This 
new  development  in  applied  science  calls  for  reappraisement  of  the 
sources  from  which  our  power  is  derived.  The  size  of  the  power  plant  is 
no  longer  limited  to  the  requirements  of  the  individual  user,  but  the  power 
for  entire  communities  can  be  supplied  from  a  single  station.  The  enlarge- 
ment of  this  field  of  work  newly  opened  by  the  electric  transmission  of 
power  from  great  distances  is  now  in  active  and  practical  development. 
As  a  result  rapid  changes  are  taking  place  in  the  methods  of  using  power. 
New  economies  are  possible  of  accomplishment  and  the  resulting  effect 
upon  the  conservation  and  utilization  of  our  power  resources  is  of  the 
greatest  importance. 

FUEE   SUPPEY 

Where  power  is  developed  from  the  combustion  of  coal,  wood,  oil  or  gas, 
our  natural  resources  as  such  are  destroyed  and  they  can  not  be  replaced, 
excepting  to  a  limited  extent  in  the  case  of  wood  and  similar  products. 
The  supply  of  natural  oil  and  gas  is  limited  and  uncertain  and  the  amount 
available  is  required  for  special  industries.  The  coal  production  of  the 
United  States  for  the  year  1906  was  414,157,278  tons;  for  1907,  about 
450,000,000  tons.  If  the  production  of  anthracite  coal  is  continued  at 
only  its  present  annual  rate,  the  supply  will  be  exhausted  in  60  to  70  years. 
Since  the  beginning  of  our  coal  industry  the  production  has  doubled 
approximately  every  ten  years.  Assuming  that  this  rate  of  increase  can  not 
be  maintained,  but  will  become  constant  in  about  150  years,  it  is  estimated 
that  the  supply  of  bituminous  coal  will  be  exhausted  in  approximately 
700  years.6  But  that  the  coal  production  should  become  constant  even 
150  years  hence  implies  that  our  industries  must  become  stationary, 
unless  other  power  resources  are  found.    We  can  not  look  forward  to  such 

a  Electricity,  of  course,  is  not  a  source  of  power — it  is  simply  the  agent  by  which 
energy  developed  from  fuel  and  water  is  transmitted  to  the  mechanism  which  utilizes 
it.  In  speaking  of  electric  power,  therefore,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  such  power 
is  always  produced  primarily  by  water  wheels,  turbines,  steam  engines,  or  gas  engines. 
With  reference  to  their  source,  therefore,  we  have  only  water  power  and  fuel  power  to 
consider,  but  with  reference  to  application  it  is  convenient  and  instructive  to  compare 
water  power,  steam  power  and  electric  power;  the  two  former  being  applied  directly 
through  mechanical  means  to  the  work,  while  the  last  named  has  its  origin  in  one  or 
the  other  of  the  former  and  is  applied  through  motors. 

&"How  long  will  our  coal  supplies  meet  the  increasing  demand  of  commerce?"  by 
Edward  W.  Parker,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey.  Presented  to  the  American  Society  of 
Mechanical  Engineers,  1907. 

(293) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

a  condition  with  equanimity.  Without  coal  our  domestic  and  industrial 
life  are  inconceivable,  and  our  existence  in  great  cities  and  crowded  com- 
munities is  impossible  unless  a  substitute  is  devised.  The  future  welfare 
of  the  nation  requires  that  all  practicable  means  be  employed  for  the  con- 
servation of  the  supply  of  coal. 

AVAILABLE   WATER   POWERS 

Where  power  is  derived  from  water,  winds,  and  tides,  only  energy  other- 
wise wasted  is  used.  The  energy  thus  extracted  is  added  to  our  assets 
instead  of  being  a  permanent  loss  as  is  the  case  with  the  combustion  of 
coal.  It  is  now  feasible  and  practicable  to  develop  water  powers,  wherever 
located,  for  electric  power.  In  the  aggregate  the  available  water  powers 
of  the  nation  greatly  exceed  the  present  power  requirements,  but  unless 
there  is  some  curtailment  in  the  rate  of  our  devlopment  our  water  power 
resources,  while  being  of  great  magnitude,  will  not  of  themselves  solve  the 
problem  of  our  future  supply  of  power.  The  amount  of  water  power 
available  in  the  United  States  is  not  known.  Some  partial  estimates 
have  been  made,  but  these  are  necessarily  approximate,  as  exact  figures 
can  be  obtained  only  after  careful  survey  and  study  not  only  of  the  exist- 
ing physical  conditions,  water  flow,  and  available  reservoir  capacity,  but 
of  the  practicable  auxiliary  steam  power  that  can  be  profitably  installed. 
The  power  of  Niagara  has  been  estimated  by  Professor  W.  C.  Unwin  at 
7,000,000  horsepower.  A  partial  estimate  of  the  water  powers  of  the 
upper  Mississippi  river  and  tributaries  places  the  available  water  power 
at  about  2,000,000  horsepower.  The  southern  Appalachian  regions  can 
furnish  a  minimum  of  nearly  3,000,000  horsepower."  Both  of  these 
estimates  can  be  greatly  increased  by  including  the  use  of  regulation 
reservoirs  and  auxiliary  steam  plants.  The  water  powers  of  New  Eng- 
land are  more  fully  developed  than  elsewhere  in  the  country,  though  much 
remains  yet  to  be  done.  In  the  Rocky  mountains  and  the  far  West  there 
are  immense  water  power  possibilities;  in  the  State  of  Washington  alone 
there  are  3,000,000  horsepower  available;6  and  Governor  Pardee  esti- 
mates that  the  streams  of  northern  California  are  capable  of  producing 
5,000,000  horsepower.  Even  approximate  data  upon  which  to  base  an 
estimate  of  the  total  amount  of  available  water  power  in  the  country  is 
lacking,  though  a  good  start  in  its  collection  has  been  made  by  the  Geolo- 
gical Survey  with  the  limited  means  at  their  disposal.  It  is  probable  that 
the  water  power  in  the  United  States  exceeds  30,000,000  horsepower,  and 
under  certain  assumptions  as  to  storage  reservoirs  this  amount  can  be 
increased  to  150,000,000  horsepower  or  possibly  more.     Much  depends 

a"  Water  Powers  of  the  Upper  Mississippi  and  Tributaries,"  and  "  Water  Powers  of 
the  Southern  Appalachian  System,"  1>y  M.  O.  I.eighton,  Chief  Hydrographer,  U.  S. 
Geological  Survey. 

^Computed  by  F.  G.  Moorhead,  in  The  World's  Work,  April,  1908,  p.  10091. 

(294) 


Statement  by  H.  St.  Clair  Putnam 


upon  whether  regulation  reservoirs  and  reserve  steam  plants  are  included 
in  the  estimate.  Both  have  been  demonstrated  to  be  practicable  and 
undoubtedly  should  be  considered  in  any  estimate  made  of  the  available 
water  power  resources  of  the  country. 

Using  the  smaller  figure  of  30,000,000  horsepower  as  an  illustration, 
to  develop  an  equal  amount  of  energy  in  our  most  modern  steam-electric 
plants  would  require  the  burning  of  nearly  225,000,000  tons  of  coal  per 
annum,  and  in  the  average  steam-engine  plant,  as  now  existing,  more 
than  650,000,000  tons  of  coal,  or  50%  in  excess  of  the  total  coal  produc- 
tion of  the  country  in  1906.  At  an  average  price  of  $3.00  per  ton  it 
would  require  the  consumption  of  coal  costing  $2,000,000,000  to  produce 
an  equivalent  power  in  steam  plants  of  the  present  general  type. 

The  supply  of  water  power  is  limited,  however,  when  the  rapid  rate  of 
increase  in  our  power  requirements  is  considered,  and  great  care,  there- 
fore, must  be  exercised  to  insure  the  preservation  of  our  water  power 
resources  and  to  secure  the  maximum  practicable  development. 

TOTAL   POWER   USED   IN    UNITED   STATES 

Using  the  data  furnished  by  the  census  returns  of  1900,  1902,  and  1905 
as  a  basis  and  applying  the  prevailing  rate  of  increase  in  the  industries 
included  in  these  reports,  and  adding  an  equivalent  amount  for  the 
steam  railroads,  it  is  estimated  that  the  total  installed  capacity  of  prime 
movers  in  all  our  land  industries  for  the  year  1908  approximates 
30,000,000  horsepower  (figure  i).a 

a  The  following  table  compiled  from  the  latest  census  returns  gives  the  installed 
capacity  of  prime  movers  in  the  United  States  in  the  industries  named  at  the  dates 

mentioned:  _    .  „  . 

Installed 

horsepower 

Manufactures,  census  1905 I2»  765»  594 

Mines  and  quarries,  census  1902 2»  753.  555 

Street  railways,  census  1902 *>  359.  289 

Electric  light  and  power  stations,  census  1902 1,  845,  048 

Telephones,  telegraph  and  fire  alarm  systems,  census  1902 3,  148 

Custom  flour,  grist  and  saw  mills,  census  1900  (omitted  from  census  1905).  883,  685 

Steam   railroads   (data  from  Statistics  of  Railways,    1905),   equivalent 

power 3»  75°.  °°° 

These  figures  include  prime  movers  only.  Duplications  in  the  way  of  electric, 
water  and  air  motors  and  rented  power  have  been  omitted.  The  equivalent  power 
used  by  the  steam  railroads  is  based  upon  the  result  of  calculations  made  by  Lewis  B. 
Stillwell  and  H.  St.  Clair  Putnam  in  a  paper  presented  by  them  to  the  American 
Institute  of  Electrical  Engineers,  January,  1907,  "On  the  Substitution  of  the  Electric 
Motor  for  the  Steam  Locomotive,"  and  represents  the  installed  power-house  capacity 
required  for  their  electric  operation  in  the  year  1905.  Based  upon  maximum  draw- 
bar pull,  the  power  of  the  46,743  steam  locomotives  in  the  United  States  (1904) 
averages  600  horsepower  (census  1905)  but  the  power  developed  when  averaged  over 
the  entire  year  approximates  only  40  horsepower.  In  order,  therefore,  that  the 
estimate  of  total  power  in  the  United  States  should  not  be  misleading  the  power  used 

(295) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


The  average  load  on  steam  and  other  engines  is  much  less  than  their 
rated  capacity  and,  owing  to  the  overlapping  of  loads,  it  is  probable  that 
the  total  average  load  does  not  exceed  one-third  or  one-quarter  of  this 
amount. 


RATE   OF   INCREASE 

During  the  past  thirty  years  the  total  amount  of  power  used  in  our 
manufactories  and  other  industries,  as  recorded  by  the  census,  has 
doubled  approximately  every  ten  years.     The  fact  that  substantially 

by  our  steam  railways  has  been  taken  at  a  figure  that  is  comparable  with  the  installed 
power  in  other  industries  as,  for  example,  in  electric  railways  where  the  installed 
capacity  in  the  power  houses  has  been  taken  rather  than  the  rated  power  of  the  motor 
equipment  which  is  many  times  greater  than  the  power-house  capacity  required  for 
their  operation. 

(296) 


Statement  by  H.  St.  Clair  Putnam 


the  same  rate  of  increase  has  existed  in  coal  production,  railroad  gross 
earnings,  freight  ton-mileage,  passenger  mileage  and  the  value  of  agri- 
cultural products  as  well  as  in  total  power  consumption  is  a  striking 
demonstration  of  the  close  interrelation  and  mutual  dependence  of  these 
great  factors  which,  in^the  aggregate,  measure  the  industrial  progress  of 
the  nation.  Yet  the  records  of  power  used  in  small  units  are  far  from 
complete. 

We  can  not  foretell  how  long  the  present  rate  of  increase  in  our  indus- 
trial enterprises  will  continue.  This  will  be  determined  by  the  general 
laws  which  govern  industrial  development  and  by  the  increase  in  wealth. 
It  is  clear,  however,  that  if  our  power  resources  are  exhausted  or  wasted 
the  result  will  be  disastrous. 

RELATIVE    USE   OF   STEAM,  WATER   POWER,  ETC. 

Of  the  total  estimated  power  at  present  produced  by  prime  movers, 
about  26,000,000  horsepower  is  produced  by  steam  engines,  3,000,000 
horsepower  by  water  motors  and  800,000  horsepower  by  gas  and  oil 
engines  (figure  2).  These  figures  emphasize  the  present  position  of  the 
steam  engine  in  our  industrial  development  and  the  relatively  much 
less  important  place  now  occupied  by  water  power. 

GROWTH   OF   ELECTRICALLY    APPLIED   POWER 

Of  the  total  30,000,000  horsepower,  including  the  railroads,  used  in 
the  country,  it  is  estimated  that  9,000,000  horsepower,  or  30%,  is  now 
utilized  electrically  (figure  3).°  This  highly  remarkable  growth  has  been 
accomplished  in  25  years.  The  use  of  electric  power  at  the  present  time 
is  being  doubled  approximately  every  five  years,  as  contrasted  with  the 
phenomenal  doubling  of  the  total  power  every  ten  years.  If  the  present 
rate  of  increase  is  maintained,  electrically  applied  power  will  equal  or 
exceed  the  power  mechanically  applied  in  1920.  This  great  growth  is 
due  to  the  convenience,  earning  capacity,  and  economy  resulting  from 
the  use  of  electrically  applied  power.  The  significance  of  this  remarkable 
increase  in  the  use  of  electric  power  in  manufactures  and  other  industries 
lies  in  the  market  thus  provided  for  the  utilization  of  our  water  powers 
wherever  located  and  whatever  their  magnitude. 

ECONOMIES   DUE   TO   ELECTRIC   POWER:    STEAM    POWER 

Where  coal  is  the  source  of  power,  electric  transmission  and  distribution 
greatly  reduce  the  amount  burned  to  perform  given  mechanical  work. 
This  results  from  the  substitution  of  a  few  large  and  highly  efficient 

a  This  does  not  include  the  electric  power  generated  in  isolated  plants  and  used  for 
other  purposes  than  manufacturing.  These  plants  are  not  included  in  the  census 
reports,  and  while  they  are  individually  small  the  aggregate  electric  power  developed 
is  large. 

(297) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


boilers  and  engines  for  a  larger  number  of  relatively  small  and  uneconom- 
ical ones  and  from  the  introduction  of  plant  economies  and  skill  in 
operation  not  attainable  in  the  smaller  plants.  A  material  saving  is 
effected  also  in  the  application  of  the  power  directly  to  the  work  through 
motors  instead  of  indirectly  through  inefficient  countershafting  and 
belting. 


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A  further  material  gain  also  results  from  the  fact  that  a  large  plant 
carrying  the-  load  formerly  carried,  for  example,  by  one  hundred  small 
plants  is  operated  under  conditions  more  nearly  approximating  uni- 
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Greater  economy  can  be  obtained,  even  in  our  large  plants,  through  the 
more  general  use  of  so-called  fuel  economizers,  superheated  steam,  higher 

(298) 


Statement  of  H.  St.  Clair  Putnam 


vacuum  and  better  combustion  under  the  boilers.  We  may  expect  still 
higher  efficiency  from  the  development  of  larger  boiler  and  engine  units. 
These  economizing  appliances,  which  are  relatively  unimportant  in  small 
plants,  become  of  great  importance  in  large  plants,  and  will  have  still 
greater  influence  on  steam  practice  as  the  price  of  fuel  increases  and  the 
cost  of  capital  decreases. 


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FUEL   ECONOMY    OF   GAS   ENGINES 


This  discussion  would  be  incomplete  without  mention  of  the  great 
possible  fuel  economy  that  may  result  from  the  use  of  gas  and  other  similar 
engines.  Though  engines  of  this  character  antedate  the  use  of  the  electric 
motor  their  development  has  been  slow,  and  they  occupy  a  relatively 
unimportant  place  as  power  producers.     The  ordinary  steam  engine 


56254—09 22 


(299) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

utilizes  not  more  than  4  or  5%  of  the  heat  energy  in  coal,  and  our  best 
modern  steam-electric  plants  show  a  heat  efficiency  not  exceeding  10  or 
i2%.a  With  the  gas  engine  and  producer  gas  the  heat  efficiency  can  be 
more  than  doubled,  and  still  higher  efficiency  seems  probable  with  higher 
compression  or  through  the  use  of  other  possible  improvements.6  This 
is  a  most  promising  field  for  development  and  it  is  entirely  possible  that 
the  gas  engine  may  revolutionize  our  methods  of  using  fuel  for  the  pro- 
duction of  power. 

Beyond  these  gains,  which  may  be  considered  well  within  the  limits  of 
possible  attainment  by  present  knowledge,  there  stands  the  theoretical 
prospect  of  still  greater  economies,  the  possibility  of  which  can  not  be 
denied  so  long  as  methods  employed  in  developing  energy  from  coal 
results  in  a  waste  of  from  75  to  95%  of  the  potential  energy  which  nature 
has  stored  in  the  coal.  But  the  science  of  the  present  time  does  not  per- 
mit us  to  assume  any  radical  increase  in  efficiency  of  fuel  engines  beyond 
the  limits  which  I  have  indicated  and  our  only  safe  course  is  to  base  our 
estimate  upon  the  progress  of  the  present  time  with  such  reasonable 
allowance  for  improved  economy  as  is  dictated  by  recognition  of  progress 
of  the  art  along  lines  now  within  the  horizon  of  possible  science. 

WATER   POWER   ECONOMIES 

Where  water  power  is  the  source  of  supply,  electricity  promotes  econ- 
omy for  reasons  identical  with  the  foregoing,  except  that  absence  of 
fluctuation  of  load  is  relatively  less  important,  but  the  great  gain  which 
results  from  electric  transmission  is  the  utilization  of  water  powers  remote 
from  power  markets.  Where  several  water  powers  along  a  stream  are 
developed  it  becomes  possible  to  utilize,  in  conjunction  with  the  larger 
and  more  cheaply  developed  powers,  others  which,  considered  inde- 
pendently, could  not  be  utilized  to  advantage. 

APPLICATIONS   OF   ELECTRIC   POWER:    MANUFACTURES 

Prior  to  1 870  the  use  of  water  power  in  manufactures  exceeded  that  of 
steam  power.  Water  power  expressed  in  percentage  of  the  total  power 
employed  has  since  steadily  declined,  falling  from  48.3%  in  1870  to  1 1.2% 
in  1905  (figure  4).  During  the  corresponding  period  steam  power  in- 
creased from  51 .8%  in  1870  to  78.2%  in  1900.  The  census  of  1900  showed 
a  marked  falling  off  in  the  rate  of  increase  in  the  percentage  of  steam 
power  used  as  compared  with  the  rate  prior  to  1890,  and  this  was  accen- 

a  "  Power  Plant  Economics, "  by  Henry  G.  Stott,  presented  to  the  American  Institute 
of  Electrical  Engineers,  January,  1906. 

h  Report  of  F.  W.  Burstall  t<»  the  Gas  Engine  Research  Committee  of  the  (British) 
Institution  of  Mechanical  Engineers. 

(300) 


Statement  by  H.  St.  Clair  Putnam 


tuated  in  the  census  of  1905,  when  the  percentage  of  steam  power  fell  to 
73-6%  of  the  total.  This  check  to  the  ascendency  of  directly  applied 
steam  power  was  due  to  the  introduction  of  electric  power.  In  1890  elec- 
tric power  was  negligible.  In  1900  it  constituted  4.8%  of  the  total.  In 
1905  this  had  increased  to  1 1.8%— a  marvelously  rapid  growth  when  the 




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aggregate  increase  of  over  1,000,000  horsepower  in  five  years  is  con- 
sidered. If  the  present  rate  of  increase  prevails  until  1 910,  electric  power 
will  have  reached  18%  of  the  total  and  steam  power  will  have  dropped 
to  68%.  If  the  same  rate  of  increase  is  maintained  until  1930,  electric 
power  as  applied  to  the  manufacturing  industries  will  exceed  the  amount 
of  steam  power  applied  direct. 


(30O 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

OTHER    INDUSTRIES 

The  tendencies  illustrated  by  the  changes  that  have  taken  place  in  the 
methods  of  utilizing  power  in  manufacturing  apply  generally  to  other 
industries.  The  increasing  use  of  power  is  phenomenal;  the  steam 
engine  as  a  source  of  power  is  thus  far  paramount  in  them  all,  but  the 
percentage  of  electrically  applied  power  is  increasing  at  nearly  double 
the  rate  of  increase  of  the  total  power  used. 

ELECTRIC   LIGHTING 

The  extraordinary  growth  of  the  electric  lighting  industry  is  familiar 
to  all.  Unfortunately  the  results  of  the  special  census  of  1907  are  not 
yet  available,  but  the  indications  are  that  the  five  years  that  have  elapsed 
since  the  previous  census  will  show  phenomenal  growth.  During  these 
five  years  the  gross  sales  of  the  great  electric  manufacturing  companies 
have  doubled,  and  the  proportion  of  the  output  consisting  of  electric 
power  apparatus  and  generating  units  of  large  size  has  greatly  increased. 
An  influential  factor  in  the  growth  during  this  period  has  been  the  rapid 
development  of  long-distance  hydro-electric  power  transmission  plants. 

ELECTRIC   RAILWAYS 

Since  the  displacement  of  horse  and  cable  cars  in  the  cities  a  few  years 
ago,  electric  railways  have  been  extended  to  suburban  and  interurban 
districts  and  are  rapidly  forming  a  net  work  over  the  entire  thickly 
settled  portions  of  the  country.  In  the  nature  of  their  traffic  many  of 
these  roads  are  scarcely  distinguishable  from  steam  railroads,  and  many 
railroads  are  using  them  as  feeders.  In  a  few  cases  railroads  have  con- 
verted steam-operated  branches  into  electric  lines. 

ELECTRIFICATION   OF   STEAM   RAILROADS 

A  beginning  is  being  made  in  the  electrification  of  our  steam  railroads. 
The  New  York  Central,  the  Pennsylvania,  the  Long  Island,  the  New 
York,  New  Haven  &  Hartford,  the  Grand  Trunk,  the  Northern  Pacific, 
the  Erie,  the  Southern -Pacific  and  others  have  electrified  portions  of 
their  lines,  and  most  of  these  are  now  in  successful  operation.  Many  of 
these  roads  are  extending  the  electric  zone.  Thus  far  most  of  this  work 
has  been  induced  by  terminal  requirements,  tunnels,  heavy  grades  or 
other  special  conditions  which  emphasize  the  advantages  to  be  derived 
from  electric  operation.  The  increase  in  capacity,  convenience  and 
greater  earning  power  as  well  as  the  economies  resulting  from  electric 
operation  will  stimulate  the  electrification  of  steam  railroads,  just  as 
these  factors  ha\  nulated  the  use  of  electric  power  in  other  indus- 

tries.    The  problem  presented  is  larger  because  of  the  necessity  of  inter- 

(302) 


Statement  by  H.  St.  Clair  Putnam 


changeability  of  equipment,  and  the  development  must  necessarily  be 
gradual  on  account  of  the  magnitude  of  the  interests  and  the  large 
capital  expenditures  involved.  The  railroads  are  among  the  largest  con- 
sumers of  fuel;  and  electric  operation,  exclusive  of  the  use  of  water 
powers,  would  reduce  the  coal  consumption  to  less  than  one-half  of  that 
required  for  similar  operation  with  steam  locomotives.0 

TENDENCY  TOWARD  GREATER  USE  OF  WATER  POWERS 

During  the  past  few  years  there  has  been  renewed  interest  in  water 
powers  on  account  of  the  practicability  of  their  use  for  the  generation  of 
power  and  the  electrical  transmission  of  this  power  to  distant  markets. 
The  great  hydro-electric  development  at  Niagara  was  the  first  large 
enterprise  of  this  character  and  has  demonstrated  its  practicability. 
The  census  of  1905  gives  a  partial  list  of  long-distance  hydro-electric 
plants  developing  power  aggregating  600,000  horsepower  and  this  list 
can  now  be  largely  increased.  Our  most  desirable  water  powers  are 
being  absorbed  rapidly,  and  it  becomes  important,  therefore,  for  us  to 
take  stock  of  our  water  resources  and  formulate  plans  for  their  control 
and  proper  utilization. 

INLAND   WATERWAYS 

In  the  improvements  that  have  been  made  on  navigable  rivers,  too 
little  attention  has  been  given  to  the  development  of  the  incidental  water 
powers.  On  some  waterways,  as  in  several  instances  on  the  Mississippi, 
immense  sums  of  money  have  been  appropriated  and  expended  on 
especially  difficult  portions  of  the  river.  If  this  money  could  have  been 
made  available  in  large  amounts,  instead  of  by  driblets  over  periods  of 
many  years,  water  powers  of  great  value  could  have  been  developed  and 
the  navigation  effectively  and  permanently  improved.  Unfortunately 
this  has  not  been  our  policy.  Too  often  the  appropriations  have  been 
inadequte  for  carrying  out  the  work  as  it  should  be  done  and  frequently 
the  work  has  not  followed  any  well-digested  plan. 

With  the  data  at  hand,  it  is  impossible  to  make  an  accurate  estimate 
of  the  amount  of  power  that  can  be  developed  incidentally  to  river 
navigation.  A  partial  estimate  of  the  power  developed  at  existing 
government  locks  and  dams  places  the  amount  at  1,600,000  horse- 
power.6 This  is  based  on  the  mean  low-water  discharge  for  three  months. 
This  subject  should  receive  careful  consideration.  Improvements  in 
navigation  should  be  made  only  after  thorough  study  of  the  possibilities 

«  "On  the  Substitution  of  the  Electric  Motor  for  the  Steam  Locomotive,"  by  Lewis 
B.  Stillwell  and  H.  St.  Clair  Putnam,  presented  to  the  American  Institute  of  Electrical 
Engineers,  January,  1907. 

b  "Available  Water  Powers  of  the  United  States  Government  Locks  and  Dams," 
collected  by  M.  O.  Leighton,  United  States  Geological  Survey. 

(303) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

of  power  development.  On  the  other  hand,  many  water  powers  are  on 
streams  that  are  navigable,  or  are  capable  of  canalization,  and  these 
streams  should  be  developed  for  power  purposes  only  after  careful 
examination  has  been  made  of  the  possibilities  of  the  stream  forming  a 
link  in  the  system  of  inland  waterways. 

CANALIZED   RIVERS 

There  are  many  streams  that  are  not  now  navigable,  or  are  navigable 
for  only  a  portion  of  the  season,  that  can  be  canalized  and  converted 
into  streams  of  great  commercial  value.  The  use  of  our  waterways  for 
both  power  development  and  navigation  causes  no  conflict;  these  uses 
are  in  fact  corelated  and  their  interests  harmonious.  Where  it  is  neces- 
sary to  place  a  dam  across  a  stream  to  develop  power,  the  slack  water  so 
produced,  with  the  addition  of  locks,  renders  otherwise  impassable 
stretches  of  river  available  for  navigation.  Every  water  power  develop- 
ment is  vitally  interested  in  obtaining  a  uniform  flow  of  water.  This 
exactly  meets  the  requirements  of  navigation.  The  approximate  reali- 
zation of  regularity  of  flow  can  be  attained  only  by  the  construction  of 
headwater  regulating  reservoirs  and  the  preservation  of  our  forests. 
Every  water  course  that  is  improved  for  the  production  of  power  and  for 
navigation  produces,  therefore,  vigorous  self-interested  allies  in  the  cause 
of  forest  preservation,  headwater  regulation  and  the  maintenance  of 
conditions  which  are  favorable  to  both  interests. 

canals 

Considerations  which  affect  the  use  of  our  rivers  and  streams,  as  sources 
of  power  and  for  navigation,  apply  also  to  canals.  Heretofore,  canals 
built  for  transportation  purposes  have  not  been  used,  to  any  great 
extent,  for  the  development  of  power.  In  some  cases  this  has  been  on 
account  of  the  limited  supply  of  water,  but  more  frequently  it  has  been 
due  to  the  great  difficulty  experienced  by  the  animals  in  towing  boats 
against  the  rapid  current  produced  in  the  canal  by  the  flow  of  water  to 
the  water  wheels.  In  recent  tests  it  has  been  demonstrated  that  canal 
boats  can  be  towed  by  electric  towing  machines  at  a  much  lower  operat- 
ing cost  than  is  possible  with  animals  and  that  operated  in  this  manner 
the  speed  can  be  greatly  increased.0  The  first  cost  of  electric  equipment 
is  relatively  large  but  the  change  to  electric  towing  will  pay  handsomely 
when  the  volume  of  traffic  is  sufficiently  large.  The  traffic  required  is 
well  within  the  ultimate  capacity  of  the  canal.  With  electric  towing  the 
increase  in  the  rate  of  current  flow  introduced  by  the  development  of 
water  power  on  the  canal  is  not  a  serious  impediment  to  navigation. 

«  "Notes  on  Electric  Haulage  of  Canal  Boats,"  by  Lewis  B.  Stillwell  and  H.  St.  Clair 
Putnam,  presented  to  the  American  Institute  of  Electrical  Engineers,  March,  1908. 

(304) 


Statement  by  H.  St.  Clair  Putnam 


IRRIGATION 

There  are  large  areas  in  the  Western  States  where  the  soil  is  of  won- 
derful fertility  but  irrigation  is  essential  to  the  successful  growing  of 
crops.  The  cultivated  lands  usually  lie  in  valleys  and  water  is  carried 
to  them  through  long  and  oftentimes  wasteful  irrigation  ditches.  In 
many  cases  the  water  could  be  utilized  for  developing  power  on  the 
headwaters  of  the  streams  without  injury  to  the  irrigation  interests,  as  is 
illustrated  by  the  excellent  work  now  being  done  by  the  Reclamation 
Service.  The  development  of  water  power  will  introduce  another  party 
whose  self-interest  dictates  the  use  of  every  available  method  of  preserv- 
ing the  volume  of  water  supply,  its  continuity  and  regularity  of  flow. 

In  some  cases  irrigation  channels  can  be  converted  into  canals  suitable 
for  at  least  limited  navigation,  and  where  practicable  this  should  be  done. 
Some  types  of  apparatus  as  now  developed  for  towing  canal  boats  by 
electricity  require  but  little  space  along  the  side  of  the  ditch  and  can  be 
installed,  usually,  without  additional  grading  wherever  an  irrigation 
ditch  can  be  constructed.  Electric  towing  can  not  be  economically 
practicable,  however,  unless  the  traffic  reaches  a  considerable  volume. 
With  animal  power  the  additional  capital  investment  is  small  and  is 
proportional  to  the  amount  of  business  handled.  With  electric  towing 
the  first  cost  is  large  and  manifestly  sufficient  traffic  must  be  secured  to 
meet  the  capital  charges  before  profits  can  be  realized. 

WATER   SUPPLY 

What  has  been  said  upon  the  subject  of  irrigation  canals  applies  to  the 
development  of  the  water  supply  for  our  cities.  This  work,  like  irriga- 
tion, should  be  carried  out  so  as  to  develop  the  maximum  water  power 
possible  without  injury  to  the  water  supply. 

The  preservation  of  the  purity  of  water  for  domestic  use  is  of  great 
importance  to  the  welfare  of  the  nation.  A  consideration  of  this  subject, 
as  well  as  of  navigable  waterways,  canals,  irrigation  and  water  powers, 
emphasizes  the  absolute  necessity  of  competent  supervision  of  the  natural 
water  resources  of  the  country. 

REGULATION   OF   STREAM   FLOW 

The  flow  of  water  in  many  streams  annually  fluctuates  between  wide 
limits.  The  low-water  periods  limit  the  profitable  water  power  develop- 
ment and  the  high  periods  often  cause  disastrous  floods.  On  most 
streams  the  average  rate  of  flow  for  the  year  is  many  times  the  minimum 
flow.  It  is  possible  in  some  cases  to  utilize  a  flow  approximating  the 
average  by  constructing  controlling  reservoirs  on  the  headwaters  of  the 

(305) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


streams.  Our  Great  Lakes  form  a  natural  reservoir  of  this  character  for 
the  Niagara  River.  The  upper  Mississippi  has  great  natural  reservoirs 
which  assist  in  regulating  its  flow  and  which  easily  can  be  made  very 
effective  in  its  control.  The  notable  floods  of  the  Ohio  River  can  be 
greatly  reduced  by  the  construction  of  controlling  reservoirs  on  its 
headwaters  which  will  result  in  the  saving  of  millions  of  dollars  now 
annually  destroyed.  On  a  stream  which  I  recently  investigated  the 
minimum  flow  furnishes  but  200  horsepower.  The  construction  of  a 
storage  reservoir  increases  the  continuous  24-hour  power  that  can  be 
utilized  to  8,000  horsepower.  If  storage  reservoirs  could  be  constructed 
on  the  Susquehanna  river,  upon  which  a  great  water  power  development 
is  now  in  course  of  construction,  so  as  to  obtain  a  uniform  flow  through- 
out the  year,  the  available  power  at  this  site  would  be  increased  from  a 
minimum  of  30,000  horsepower  to  200,000  horsepower.  While  it  is 
impracticable  to  construct  reservoirs  capable  of  holding  back  all  flood 
waters,  it  is  nevertheless  certain  that  material  gain  would  result  from 
well-directed  efforts  along  the  lines  suggested. 

AUXILIARY   STEAM   PLANTS 

On  account  of  the  great  annual  fluctuations  now  existing  in  stream 
flow  it  has  been  found  profitable  to  install  steam  plants  supplementing 
the  water  power  during  seasons  of  low  water.  This  method  on  account 
of  its  expense  greatly  handicaps  the  full  development  of  our  water 
powers  and  increases  the  amount  that  must  be  charged  for  the  power. 
Under  given  conditions  the  most  profitable  amount  of  water  power  to 
develop  and  the  best  size  of  steam  plant  to  install  can  be  determined 
with  great  accuracy.  The  reserve  steam  station  need  not  be  located  at 
the  water  power;  in  fact,  it  preferably  should  be  located  at  or  near  the 
market  for  the  power  when  that  is  distant,  as  greater  reliability  and 
continuity  of  power  supply  is  thus  secured.  Headwater  regulation 
would  greatly  reduce  the  necessity  for  such  auxiliary  steam  plants. 

Similarly  the  water  power  which  can  be  purchased  economically  by  a 
prospective  customer  who  already  has  a  steam  plant  in  operation  can  be 
accurately  determined.  This  amount  depends  upon  the  relative  cost 
of  generating  different  portions  of  the  load  by  steam  as  compared  with 
the  amount  charged  for  the  water  power  supplied.  In  its  economical 
application  this  method  of  operation  works  out  so  that  the  water  power 
plant  carries  the  steady  portion  of  the  load  where  the  coal  consumption 
per  horsepower  capacity  is  greatest,  and  the  steam  plant  is  called  upon 
to  carry  the  peaks  only  where  the  coal  consumption  per  horsepower  is 
least. 


(306) 


Statement  by  H.  St.  Clair  Putnam 


INTER-CONNECTED   PLANTS 

In  addition  to  their  reserve  function  in  time  of  low  water  or  flood, 
auxiliary  steam  plants  and  inter-connected  plants  are  valuable  as  insuring 
the  continuity  of  power  supply.  If  the  lines  are  run  overhead,  as  they 
must  be  for  long-distance  transmission  in  the  present  development  of  the 
art,  all  electric  transmission  plants  are  subject  to  occasional  short  inter- 
ruptions due  to  storm,  lightning,  or  malicious  mischief.  It  is  economical 
and  desirable  to  tie  together  two  or  more  plants,  thus  greatly  increasing 
the  reliability  of  sendee.  If  one  plant  or  transmission  line  fails,  the 
others  can  be  pushed  to  take  the  load.  From  an  engineering  standpoint, 
and  from  the  standpoint  of  the  engineer  as  well  as  the  power  producer, 
this  method  of  operation  has  great  advantages. 

IMPORTANCE  OF  POWER  RESOURCES 

In  1905  the  value  of  the  product  of  our  manufactures  amounted 
to   $16,866,706,985;   the   total   receipts   of   the   steam    railroads    were 

$2,325,765,167. 

In  manufacturing  the  value  of  the  product  was  $1,152  for  each  horse- 
power installed  and  the  yearly  wages  amounted  to  $248  per  horsepower. 

In  the  railroad  industry  the  gross  receipts  amounted  to  $555  and  the 
yearly  wages  to  $224  per  horsepower,  rated  on  a  basis  comparable  to 
that  used  in  the  census  report  covering  manufactures. 

I  have  selected  these  two  classes  of  industry  for  the  reason  that  they 
use  the  bulk  of  the  power  and  illustrate  its  tremendous  productiveness 
in  increasing  our  wealth. 

On  the  basis  of  the  lower  estimate  of  water  power  already  mentioned, 
namely,  30,000,000  horsepower,  and  applying  the  ratio  which  now  exists 
between  wages  paid  and  power  utilized  in  manufacturing  and  railroad 
industries,  the  development  of  this  amount  of  water  power  implies  an 
increase  in  wages  paid  amounting  to  about  $15,000,000,000  per  annum, 
an  amount  more  than  double  the  total  value  of  our  agricultural  products 

at  the  present  time. 

These  figures  emphasize  the  vast  financial  importance  of  our  power 
resources  and  the  necessity  of  their  conservation  and  their  intelligent 
development.  Much  can  be  accomplished  by  the  National  Government 
in  connection  with  irrigation  of  national  lands  and  the  improvement  and 
preservation  of  navigable  waters.  The  State  governments  can  greatly 
assist  in  this  work,  within  their  respective  territories. 

CENSUS   OF  WATER   RESOURCES 

A  reliable  census  of  water  resources  is  greatly  needed.  The  Geological 
Survey  has  accomplished  much  in  measuring  and  recording  the  flow  of 

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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


streams,  but  the  work  done  is  small  as  compared  with  that  which  remains 
to  be  done.  Obviously,  in  order  that  records  of  this  character  shall  con- 
stitute a  uniform  and  safe  basis  for  the  very  large  capital  investment 
which  must  be  made  in  the  future  in  order  that  our  water  power  resources 
shall  be  properly  utilized  and  our  fuel  supplies  conserved,  they  should  be 
made  under  the  immediate  direction  of  the  National  Government. 

RESEARCH    WORK 

The  National  Government  can  render  great  assistance  also  in  the 
research  work  which  it  has  undertaken  into  the  better  utilization  of  our 
fuels.  Excellent  results  have  been  obtained  by  the  able  body  of  engi- 
neers engaged  on  this  work,  but  when  we  consider  that  we  are  now 
utilizing  but  five  or  ten  per  cent  of  the  heat  value  in  fuels  it  is  evident 
that  much  remains  to  be  done. 

NECESSITY   OF   GOVERNMENT   REGULATION 

Power  and  transportation  are  the  two  great  physical  bases  upon  which 
modern  industrial  development  rests.  Without  power  our  methods  of 
transportation  must  revert  to  a  level  with  those  existing  in  China.  Up 
to  the  present  time  while  Nation  and  States  have  regulated  and  in  some 
degree  aided  in  the  development  of  transportation,  the  power  resources 
of  the  country  have  been  utilized  or  wasted  by  the  private  individual 
and  the  corporation  with  little  hindrance  and  still  less  regulation  by  the 
constituted  authorities.  Next  to  individual  enterprise,  the  most  essential 
factor  in  the  development  of  our  national  resources  is  wise  governmental 
guidance  so  applied  as  to  insure  the  vigorous  working  of  individual 
initiative,  and  at  the  same  time  prevent  the  waste  by  individuals  of  that 
which  is  vital  to  our  national  welfare  and  to  secure  in  the  utilization  of 
our  national  resources  the  highest  practicable  degree  of  economy  which 
scientific  knowledge  and  engineering  skill  can  attain. 


(308) 


Additional  Expressions 


CONSERVATION  OF  NATURAL  RESOURCES  IN  ILLINOIS 

Charles  S.  Deneen 

GOVERNOR   OF   ILLINOIS 

The  idea  of  cooperation  between  the  States  in  the  preservation  and 
the  development  of  natural  resources  appeals  strongly  to  Illinois.     Cen- 
trally located  and  therefore  sensitive  to  whatever  affects  the  prospenty 
of  other  parts  of  the  country,  Illinois  is  interested  in  their  welfare,  not 
only  as  a  great  commercial  Commonwealth  but  also  as  a  sharer  in  those 
natural  advantages  which  have  in  the  past  proven  the  mainstay  to  our 
national  prosperity.     In  mineral  resources  and  in  soil  fertility;  in  the 
abundance  of  advantages  related  to  the  dawning  era  of  American  do- 
mestic waterway  development,  Illinois  is  second  to  no  State  in  the  Union. 
I  am  proud,  therefore,  as  an  Illinoisan  to  say  that  the  new  spint  of 
Conservation— the  spirit  which  animated  the  President  in  calling  to- 
gether this  Conference— has  been  in  recent  years  dominant  in  the  admin- 
istration of  public  affairs  in  Illinois.     It  was  in  this  spirit  that,  m  1905, 
the  Illinois  General  Assembly  enacted  a  law  creating  a  State  Geological 
Survey  Commission,  with  the  duty  of  making  a  complete  investigation 
and  study  of  the  geology  and  of  the  mineral  resources  of  the  State  with 
a  view  to  their  efficient  and  economical  development. 
'  The  mineral  resources  of  Illinois  are  of  great  variety.     Besides  coal, 
they  include  clays  suitable  for  many  manufacturing  purposes,  as  fire 
clays    brick  clays,  tile  and  porcelain  clays;  sands  for  glass-making,  for 
building  purposes,  for  mortar,  for  braziers'  use,  etc.;  fluorspar;  zinc, 
lead,  and  cement  products.     Illinois  leads  all  other  States  in  the  pro- 
duction of  limestone  for  building  purposes,  as  well  as  in  the  production 
of  petroleum.     Our  State  also  has  an  extensive  natural  gas  area. 

In  1906  the  total  value  of  the  mineral  output  of  our  State  was 
$121,000,000.  For  1907  the  preliminary  figures  indicate  that  the  total 
output  was  approximately  $143,000,000. 

The  Geological  Survey  Commission  is  now  engaged  in  the  mapping 
and  study  of  the  newly  discovered  oil  fields  of  Illinois,  which  last  year 
produced  nearly  25,000,000  barrels  of  oil.     Prior  to  the  studies  now 

(309) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


being  conducted  by  the  Commission,  very  little  data  was  obtainable  in 
regard  to  the  probable  oil  area  of  our  State.  With  such  meager  data  as 
were  procurable,  however,  the  Commission  was  able  in  its  first  report 
on  the  oil  district  to  point  out  the  direction  of  future  development. 

Another  branch  of  the  work  of  the  Geological  Survey  Commission  is 
the  study  of  the  various  rivers,  and  of  adjacent  lands  subject  to  overflow, 
with  a  view  to  stream  improvement  for  reclamation  and,  incidentally, 
for  navigation  and  water-power  purposes. 

In  this  work  the  Commission  cooperates  with  a  State  Commission 
created  in  1905  for  the  study  of  similar  problems.  This  Commission,  the 
Illinois  Internal  Improvement  Commission,  was  appointed  under  an 
Act  passed  at  the  session  of  the  General  Assembly  in  1905.  The  Act 
provides  that  the  Commission  "shall  investigate  the  various  problems 
associated  with  a  projected  deep  waterway  from  Lake  Michigan  to  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  the  reclamation  of  lands  subject  to  overflow  or 
inundation." 

The  report  of  the  Commission  dealt  largely  with  the  question  of  the 
feasibility  of  establishing  water  communication  between  the  Great 
Lakes  and  Mississippi  river.  Prior  to  the  appointment  of  this  State 
Commission,  an  appropriation  of  $200,000  had  been  made  by  the  Federal 
Government  in  the  River  and  Harbor  Act  of  1902,  "for  making  such 
surveys,  examinations  and  investigations  as  may  be  required  to  deter- 
mine the  feasibility  of  and  prepare  plans  and  estimates  of  the  cost  of  a 
navigable  waterway  fourteen  feet  in  depth  from  Lockport,  Illinois,  to 
St.  Louis,  Missouri."  The  report  of  the  committees  appointed  by  the 
Federal  Government  to  make  these  investigations  showed  the  entire 
feasibility  of  the  project,  and  estimated  its  cost  at  $30,097,462.  The 
report  of  the  Internal  Improvement  Commission  agreed  with  that  of  the 
Federal  Government  and  further  pointed  out  that  "with  the  large  flow 
of  water  proposed,  there  can  be  developed  between  Lockport  and  Utica 
(a  distance  of  61  £  miles)  173,000  available  electrical  horsepower". 

The  possibility  of  water-power  development  became  at  once  a  subject 
of  the  greatest  interest  to  the  people  of  Illinois  in  connection  with  the 
discussion  of  the  proposed  waterway  construction.  The  possibility  thus 
afforded  of  securing,  at  the  same  time,  a  waterway  of  the  highest  com- 
mercial value  and  a  perpetual  source  of  income  from  water-power  devel- 
opment amounting  to  $2,750,000  annually,  led  to  the  submission  to  the 
voters  of  Illinois  on  November  3,  1908,  of  an  amendment  to  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  State  permitting  the  issuance  of  $20,000,000  in  bonds  to 
cover  the  cost  of  waterway  construction  and  water-power  development 
between  Lockport  and  Utica. 

In  addition  to  the  water  power  to  be  developed  by  the  State,  there  is 
also  under  development  by  the  Sanitary  District  of  Chicago  water  power 
whose  value  is  estimated  at  about  one-third  of  that  of  the  State  water 

(310) 


Statement  by  Governor  Deneen 


power,  making  the  total  value  of  power  to  be  developed  in  Illinois 

$3,500,000  annually. 

Viewed  purely  as  a  waterway  proposition,  however,  the  development 
of  the  navigable  streams  of  the  State  is  a  matter  which  is  second  to  none 
in  importance  now  confronting  the  people  of  Illinois.  The  physical 
characteristics  of  the  State  lend  themselves  readily  to  such  development. 
It  has  been  ascertained  by  engineers  who  have  made  a  study  of  the  sub- 
ject that  no  less  than  2,000  miles  of  navigable  waterways  in  the  form  of 
barge  canals  can  be  added  to  the  present  system,  by  canalizing  certain 
of  our  rivers  and  making  the  necessary  connections,  at  a  cost  compara- 
tively trifling  in  view  of  the  enormous  benefits  thereby  conferred  upon 
the  industries  of  the  State. 

Illinois  has  the  lowest  altitude  of  any  of  the  central  States  of  the 
Mississippi  valley.     The  great  water  courses  of  the  continental  interior, 
therefore,  naturally  flow  toward  it,  giving  it  a  deep  and  special  interest 
in  the  general  problem  of  American  domestic  water  development  which  is 
shared  by  all  parts  of  the  country.     The  State  is  also  the  most  uniform  in 
topography  in  this  great  central  area.     Its  domestic  water  courses  are, 
therefore,  peculiarly  susceptible  of  unification.     In  their  former  natural 
state,  the  ancient  heads  of  navigation  on  some  of  the  Illinois  streams  were 
much  above  where  they  are  found  to-day.     On  Little  Wabash  river,  the 
head  of  navigation  was  at  Carmi;  on  the  Big  Muddy,  at  Murphysboro; 
on  the  Kaskaskia,  at  Vandalia;  on  the  Sangamon,  at  Petersburg.     The 
development  of  railroad  transportation  resulted  in  the  abondonment  of 
these  streams  as  arteries  of  commerce  and  in  the  complete  neglect  of 
efforts  to  maintain  their  navigability.     Reports  of  Illinois  engineers, 
however,  show  that  their  navigability  can  be  restored.     The  restoration 
would  extend  this  cheapest  form  of  transportation  to  a  very  large  part  of 
the  coal  area  of  the  State,  and  afford  to  this  product  an  outlet  by  water  to 
the  Lakes,  the  Mississippi,  and  the  Gulf. 

In  addition  to  its  waterway  advantages,  the  low  elevation  and  uniform 
topography  of  Illinois  afford  other  advantages.  Its  lowness  of  altitude 
with  respect  to  the  interior  of  the  continent  has  made  Illinois  the  deposi- 
tory of  the  alluvial  riches  of  the  continent.  All  the  spoils  of  the  lands  of 
the  Mississippi  valley  naturally  gravitated  in  the  formative  period  of  the 
continent  from  the  glacial  grindings  of  the  north  and  form  the  detritus  of 
the  mountain  chains,  giving  to  Illinois  a  greater  uniformity  and  excellence 
of  soil  resources  than  those  possessed  by  any  other  State. 

No  estimate  of  the  benefits  to  flow  from  stream  development  would  be 
complete  without  allusion  to  the  fisheries  which  have  been  established  on 
Illinois  streams,  especially  on  Illinois  river.  The  fisheries  located  on 
this  stream  stand  next  in  value  to  those  of  Columbia  river,  and  the 
Illinois  Fish  Commission  is  pursuing  the  policy  of  stocking  systematically 
all  the  waters  of  the  State.     Our  experience  thus  far  indicates  that  the 

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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

food  resources  of  the  water  may  be  brought  up  in  value  to  those  of  the 
land.  The  Illinois  valley  alone  contains  80,000  acres  of  water  area  and 
yields  a  fish  product  worth  $10  per  acre  per  annum,  very  nearly  all  profit. 
The  average  value  of  the  land  product  is  $11.98  and  the  labor  cost  of  its 
production  was  much  greater  than  that  involved  in  our  fisheries. 

Besides  the  commissions  which  are  engaged  in  the  investigation  of  the 
mineral  and  waterway  resources  of  the  State,  Illinois  maintains,  in  con- 
nection with  the  State  University,  an  Agricultural  Experiment  Station 
which  conducts  original  investigations  into  the  various  phases  of  agri- 
culture. It  investigates  the  qualities  of  soils;  the  leading  crops,  corn, 
wheat,  oats  and  hay;  orchard  fruits;  dairy  husbandry;  live  stock,  etc. 
As  a  result  of  its  investigations,  the  fertility  of  large  areas  in  different 
portions  of  the  State  has  been  greatly  increased.  This  has  been  notably 
the  case  in  southern  Illinois,  where,  in  23  counties,  the  fertility  of  6,000,000 
acres  of  land  was  diminished  by  the  acidity  of  the  soil.  Through  investi- 
gations conducted  by  the  Experiment  Station  it  was  found  that  the 
application  of  limestone  dust  corrected  the  acidity,  and  paved  the  way 
for  a  restoration  of  the  fertility  of  the  soil.  Stone-crushing  plants, 
previously  installed  at  the  State  penitentiaries,  are  now  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  limestone  dust  which  is  being  furnished  at  a  nominal 
price  to  farmers.  Eventually  the  restoration  of  this  immense  area  to 
its  normal  productiveness  is  assured,  constituting  another  triumph  of  the 
application  of  science  to  agriculture. 

In  many  other  directions  the  work  of  the  Experiment  Station  has  been 
of  great  importance  in  the  preservation,  restoration  or  development  of 
the  agricultural  resources  of  the  State.  I  shall  not  speak  of  these,  how- 
ever, because  they  have  been  presented  by  those  who  have  special  charge 
of  the  work  of  that  character. 

One  other  commission,  whose  work  I  shall  have  time  merely  to  allude 
to,  is  the  State  Highway  Commission,  which  is  conducting  an  important 
work  in  the  improvement  of  public  highways.  Illinois  has  94,000  miles 
of  public  roads,  of  which  less  than  8  percent  are  macadam  or  gravel 
road.  For  the  maintenance  of  roads  and  bridges  the  road  districts  pay  out 
annually  $5,000,000.  The  expenditure  of  this  large  sum  has  been  here- 
tofore confined  to  local  road  officials,  very  few  of  whom  have  possessed 
any  special  knowledge  of  road  or  bridge  construction.  As  a  consequence 
the  improvements  effected  have  been  far  below  what  could  have  been 
accomplished  with  the  same  expenditure  under  a  better  system  of  high- 
way improvement. 

From  the  great  preponderance  of  earth  roads  in  Illinois,  the  proper 
methods  of  maintaining  this  character  of  road  have  been  especially  dealt 
with  and  were  first  taken  up.  One  hundred  thousand  bulletins  have  been 
issued  by  the  Commission  on  the  use  of  the  earth-road  drag,  and  while  two 
years  ago  not  more  than  400  road  drags  were  in  use  on  Illinois  highways, 

(312) 


Statement  by  Governor  Deneen 


the  Commission  estimates  that  not  less  than  15,000  have  been  put  in  use 
and  considerably  more  than  that  number  of  miles  of  road  have  been  thus 
maintained  during  the  past  season. 

The  State  Highway  Commission  supplies  what  was  lacking  under  the 
old  system,  a  central  bureau  of  information  collected  from  all  over  the 
State  as  to  the  best  means  of  road  improvement  adapted  to  different  lo- 
calities. The  information  gathered  by  the  Commission  has  been  given 
wide  publicity  through  the  publication  of  bulletins,  and  its  purpose  has 
been  explained  at  farmers'  institutes  and  other  meetings  to  which  speakers 
have  been  furnished  by  the  Commission.  By  this  means  great  interest 
has  been  aroused  throughout  the  State  in  the  subject  of  road  improve- 
ment. Experimental  roads  have  been  constructed  at  local  expense  in 
various  localities.  Bridges  of  concrete  and  steel  construction,  designed 
on  plans  furnished  by  the  Commission  on  application  by  the  local 
authorities,  are  replacing  the  old-fashioned  wooden  bridges. 

Perhaps  the  feature  of  greatest  benefit  in  connection  with  the  conserva- 
tion and  development  of  natural  resources  is  found  in  the  joint  develop- 
ment of  all  collateral  utilities.  To  illustrate :  It  is  probably  true  that  the 
greatest  of  our  natural  resources  to  be  conserved  lie  along  our  valleys. 
The  question  of  waterway  development,  therefore,  becomes  not  solely  a 
question  of  producing  a  waterway,  but  of  the  development  in  conjunction 
therewith  of  such  collateral  utilities  as  water  power,  land  reclamation, 
fisheries,  the  improvement  of  health  conditions,  the  extension  of  indus- 
trial areas,  etc.  The  value  of  these  collateral  utilities  is  more  than  suffi- 
cient to  pay  for  the  development  of  the  waterway  itself,  the  direct  object 
of  attainment.  This  is  particularly  true  in  Illinois.  It  has  been  esti- 
mated that  in  connection  with  the  development  of  the  waterway  between 
Chicago  and  St.  Louis,  a  distance  of  367  miles,  the  collateral  utilities 
would  be  worth  over  $300,000,000,  or  nearly  $1,000,000  per  mile  of  water- 
way construction.  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  in  the  development  of  a 
general  waterway  system  under  a  policy  of  conservation  it  will  be  wise  as 
well  as  economical  to  develop  these  utilities  jointly,  especially  as  any  at- 
tempt to  develop  the  waterways  alone,  ignoring  the  collateral  benefits, 
would  result  in  blighting  a  large  source  of  wealth. 

The  above  consideration  leads  to  the  thought  that,  as  these  collateral 
benefits  are  essentially  local,  there  should  be  a  large  measure  of  coopera- 
tion between  the  States  and  the  Federal  Government,  and  that  States  and 
localities  should  contribute  to  the  general  program  in  some  proportion  to 
their  exceptional  advantages. 

This  is  the  view  which  Illinois  has  entertained.  Enjoying  large  advan- 
tages, she  has  already  made  a  large  contribution  to  the  common  cause  and, 
in  my  judgment,  she  will  after  November  3  next  be  prepared  to  contri- 
bute her  full  share  to  the  developments  of  the  future. 

(313) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


CONSERVATION   OF   NATURAL   RESOURCES   IN   THE   STATE 

OF  NEW  YORK 

Charles  E.  Hughes 

GOVERNOR   OF   NEW   YORK 

The  wise  and  patriotic  summons  of  the  President  to  the  consideration 
of  necessary  steps  for  the  conservation  of  our  natural  resources  met 
with  a  cordial  response  from  the  People  of  the  State  of  New  York.  The 
Empire  State  has  been  bountifully  blessed  by  nature,  and  for  a  long 
period  there  has  been  a  steady  growth  in  the  appreciation  of  her  price- 
less treasures  and  of  the  importance  of  preserving  them.  Our  vast 
stretches  of  forests,  feeding  our  streams  and  nourishing  the  agricultural 
and  industrial  activities  of  our  citizens,  long  remained  the  subject  of  self- 
ish devastation  in  reckless  disregard  of  the  just  demands  of  future 
generations  and  without  thought  of  the  essential  conditions  of  our  con- 
tinued prosperity.  That  sagacious  statesman,  De  Witt  Clinton,  foresaw 
the  results  of  careless  waste  of  nature's  bounty,  and  of  the  wanton  sacri- 
fice of  our  capital  thoughtlessly  supposed  to  be  inexhaustible,  in  the 
satisfaction  of  the  demands  of  the  moment.  In  addressing  the  Legis- 
lature in  1822,  he  said: 

Our  forests  are  falling  rapidly  before  the  progress  of  settlement,  and  a  scarcity  of 
wood  for  fuel,  ship  and  house  building,  and  other  useful  purposes,  is  already  felt  in 
the  increasing  ■  prices  of  that  indispensable  article.  No  system  of  plantation  for  the 
production  of  trees,  and  no  system  of  economy  for  their  preservation  has  been  adopted, 
and  probably  none  will  be,  until  severe  privations  are  experienced. 

From  time  to  time  public-spirited  citizens  and  far-seeing  statesmen 
called  attention  to  the  need  of  a  system  of  conservation,  but  it  is  only  in 
a  recent  period  that  measures  of  protection  were  adopted.  Not  only  did 
the  State  fail  to  acquire  and  hold  from  spoliation  our  forest  tracts,  but 
lands  which  had  passed  into  the  control  of  the  State  were  recklessly 
disposed  of  at  nominal  prices,  and  are  now,  under  a  new  policy,  the  sub- 
ject of  re-acquisition  at  greatly  increased  cost.  It  may  be  of  value 
briefly  to  review  the  experience  of  the  State  during  the  past  twenty- 
five  years.  Governor  Cleveland  in  1884  thus  addressed  the  Legislature 
upon  this  subject,  speaking  of  the  practice  which  had  prevailed: 

The  Hudson,  Mohawk  and  Black  rivers  are  to  a  very  large  extent  fed  by  streams 
and  lakes  in  the  southern  slopes  of  the  Adirondack  wilderness;  and  the  Black  river 
may  well  be  regarded  as  the  principal  feeder  of  the  Erie  canal.  This  statement  ren- 
ders the  importance  of  protecting  the  water  in  the  sources  of  the  rivers  named,  from 
serious  diminution,  distinctly  apparent.  The  fact  that  this  can  only  be  done  by  the 
preservation  of  the  forests  bordering  on  the  sources  of  water  supply,  needs  no  demon- 

(3H) 


Statement  by  Governor  Hughes 


stration  and  was  recognized  by  the  last  Legislature  by  the  passage  of  an  act  prohibit- 
ing the  further  sale  of  our  Northern  wilderness  lands. 

The  immense  volume  of  commerce  which  passes  through  the  Erie  canal  and  the 
Hudson  river  to  the  seaboard,  and  the  low  stage  of  water  during  the  summer  in  the 
last-named  waterway  as  well  as  the  other  rivers  and  streams  of  the  State,  have  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  the  public  to  the  necessity  of  arresting  the  further  destruc- 
tion of  our  Northern  forests. 

This  is  certainly  a  very  important  matter,  and  should  receive  early  and  serious 
attention.  We  find  ourselves  facing  the  danger  which  now  so  excites  the  people, 
because  the  interests  of  the  State  have  not  been  cared  for  in  the  years  that  are  past! 
and  because  our  forest-laden  lands  have  been  recklessly  disposed  of  at  nominal  prices,' 
until,  at  this  late  day,  we  are  awakened  to  the  fact  that  the  control  which  the  State 
should  have  always  maintained  over  that  part  of  those  lands  which  are  important  to 
the  preservation  of  our  streams  has  been  to  a  large  extent  surrendered. 

The  plan  has  been,  it  seems,  quite  generally  adopted  by  the  grantees  from  the  State 
to  refuse  to  pay  taxes  assessed  upon  these  lands  after  their  purchase,  and  to  permit 
them  to  be  sold  for  such  taxes,  the  owner  taking  advantage  of  the  time  between  the 
levying  of  the  taxes  and  the  sale  of  the  land  to  cut  off  and  sell  such  timber  as  he 
finds  to  his  profit.  In  default  of  other  bidders  at  such  tax  sale,  the  State  becomes 
the  purchaser.  Two  years  is  allowed  the  delinquent  owner  after  the  sale  to  redeem 
his  land. 

Sales  of  these  lands  are  customarily  made  by  the  Comptroller  once  in  about  five 
years,  and  then  they  are  sold  for  taxes  that  have  remained  due  and  unpaid  for  a  period 
not  less  than  five  years  prior  to  the  sale;  thus  in  1881  forest  lands  were  sold  for  taxes 
levied  thereon  between  the  years  1871  and  1876.  It  will  be  readily  seen  that  this 
allows  the  grantees  of  these  lands,  who  from  the  first  day  of  their  ownership  delib- 
erately refused  payment  of  all  taxes,  from  seven  to  twelve  years  within  which  to  cut 
off  and  sell  timber— thus  realizing  an  immense  return  from  the  amount  originally 
paid  for  the  land. 

At  that  time  a  system  of  better  control  of  the  forest  lands  was  suggested 
and  the  project  of  having  the  State  purchase  immense  tracts  of  these 
lands  was  opposed  as  involving  an  extravagant  expenditure.  In  1885 
the  attention  of  the  Legislature  was  again  directed  to  the  subject  by 
Governor  Hill,  who  said: 

The  forestry  problem  has  in  late  years  become  an  important  one;  and  through 
natural  causes  and  through  the  operations  of  some  industries  in  the  northern  counties 
of  the  State,  it  is  becoming  every  year  more  important  and  pressing.  It  is  claimed  by 
those  who  have  given  the  subject  attention  that  the  preservation  of  the  forest  growth, 
especially  in  those  parts  of  the  Adirondack  region  which  are  unfit  for  profitable  tillage,' 
is  a  matter  of  serious  concern  to  the  material  prosperity  of  the  entire  State.  Valuable 
water  courses  are  largely  dependent  upon  the  preservation  of  the  forest  trees  now 
standing  and  a  restoration  of  a  new  growth  to  tracts  which  have  been  left  waste;  and 
this  protection  of  rivers  and  streams  is  doubtless  in  this  matter  the  chief  consideration 
to  the  State  at  large.  In  addition,  however,  the  northern  counties  are  threatened  at 
no  distant  day  with  a  serious  diminution,  or  even  loss,  not  only  of  the  profitable  and 
rapidly  growing  industry  of  caring  for  the  numerous  persons  who  from  within  and 
without  the  State  resort  to  their  lakes  and  woods  for  health  or  pleasure,  but  also  of 
the  lumbering  industry  itself.  It  seems  probable  also  that  the  owners  of  forest  lands 
ought  to  be  afforded  ample  protection  against  trespassers  who  set  fire  to  or  cut  or 
injure  trees  upon  such  owners'  lands. 

(315) 
56254 — 09 23 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


The  matter  was  made  the  subject  of  investigation  by  commission. 
And  it  was  in  1885  that  a  Forest  Commission  was  established,  and  the 
lands  then  owned  or  which  might  thereafter  be  acquired  by  the  State 
within  specified  counties  were  constituted  a  Forest  Preserve.  The  State 
already  had  considerable  holdings  of  forest  lands,  principally  through  tax 
defaults.  It  was  further  provided  that  lands  composing  the  Forest  Pre- 
serve should  "forever  be  kept  as  wild  forest  lands"  and  should  "not  be 
sold  or  leased  by  any  corporation,  public  or  private."  The  Forest  Com- 
mission, three  in  number,  were  given  the  care  and  control  of  the  preserve 
and  charged  with  the  duty  to  protect  the  forests  on  the  Preserve  and  to 
promote  their  further  growth. 

In  1 887  provision  was  made  for  the  disposition  of  separated  small  par- 
cels in  the  Preserve,  or  the  timber  thereon,  under  important  restrictions. 

In  1890  Governor  Hill  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  Legislature  the 
advisability  of  a  better  definition  of  the  limits  within  which  lands  were  to 
be  retained  by  the  State  for  forest  purposes  and  of  appropriate  legislation 
with  regard  to  the  creation  by  the  State  of  a  forest  park  in  the  Adiron- 
dacks.     In  a  special  message  he  said: 

The  portion  of  northern  New  York  known  as  the  "  Adirondacks "  has  become  a 
great  summer  and  winter  resort  for  persons  seeking  pleasure  or  health,  not  only  from 
our  own  State  but  from  other  sections  of  the  Union.  It  is  rapidly  becoming  a  nation's 
pleasure  ground  and  sanitarium. 

The  State  now  owns  a  large  portion  of  this  section,  which  has  been  placed  under  the 
control  of  a  Forest  Commission.  The  present  statutes  seem  to  contemplate  retaining 
all  the  lands  that  come  to  the  State  from  tax  sales  as  part  of  a  vast  park,  without  refer- 
ence to  quality,  quantity  or  locality;  and  many  parcels  thus  reserved  are  small  and 
are  not  connected  with  the  main  body  of  State  lands. 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  limits  within  which  lands  are  to  be  retained  by  the  State 
for  this  purpose  should  be  settled  and  defined,  and  should  include  the  wilder  portion 
of  this  region  covering  the  mountains  and  lakes,  at  and  around  the  headwaters  of  the 
several  rivers  that  rise  in  that  locality,  including  the  Hudson  River;  and  that  all  the 
lands  outside  of  these  limits  should  be  subject  to  sale  as  other  State  lands  are  sold. 
If  practicable,  these  lands  could  be  exchanged  for  wild  and  forest  lands  within  the 
limits  prescribed. 

Considerable  complaint  has  been  made  that  persons  desiring  to  build  summer  camps 
or  cottages  upon  lands  belonging  to  the  State  have  not  been  permitted  to  do  so.  I  can 
see  no  reason  why,  under  suitable  restrictions,  small  parcels  should  not  be  leased  at  a 
moderate  rental  for  such  purposes.  Such  occupants  would  have  an  interest  in  pre- 
serving the  forests  in  all  their  beauty,  and  would  be  the  best  of  fire  wardens  and  for- 
esters, while  the  wilderness  would  thus  afford  a  summer  home  to  persons  of  moderate 
means,  as  well  as  to  the  wealthy. 

The  subject  is  worthy  of  the  most  careful  consideration.  It  is  represented  to  me 
by  those  who  are  familiar  with  the  situation  and  needs  of  that  section,  and  in  whose 
judgment  I  have  confidence,  that  a  State  park,  from  fifty  to  seventy  miles  square,  can 
be  obtained  by  the  State  in  that  region  at  comparatively  trifling  expense,  and  that 
when  obtained,  if  judiciously  and  sensibly  managed,  it  will  prove  of  inestimable  value 
and  benefit  to  the  whole  country 


(316) 


Statement  by  Governor  Hughes 


A  personal  inspection  on  my  part  last  summer  of  a  portion  of  the  Adirondack  region 
confirms,  in  my  judgment,  the  desirability  of  some  appropriate  legislation  upon  this 
subject. 

It  is  believed  to  be  the  true  policy  of  the  State  to  encourage  rather  than  retard 
visitation  to  this  delightful  region,  and  a  broader  and  more  enlightened  policy  than 
that  which  has  heretofore  been  followed  should  be  pursued.  Several  reasons  are  appar- 
ent why  it  is  expedient  that  some  independent  commission  should  investigate  this 
matter  and  originate  a  scheme  for  carrying  out  the  suggestions  herein  outlined,  rather 
than  the  Forest  Commission,  whose  powers  are  already  limited  by  statute  and  whose 
duties  are  confined  to  a  mere  preservation  of  the  forests. 

I  think  the  Adirondack  forests,  instead  of  being  an  expense  and  burden  to  the  State, 
are  capable,  under  the  liberal  policy  here  suggested,  of  paying  all  the  expenses  of  their 
preservation,  as  well  as  of  yielding  a  handsome  revenue  to  the  State. 

The  action  taken  by  the  Legislature  upon  this  recommendation  was 
to  authorize  the  Forest  Commission  to  purchase  lands  located  within 
such  counties  as  included  the  Forest  Preserve,  as  should  be  available  for 
the  purpose  of  a  State  Park,  at  a  price  not  to  exceed  $1.50  per  acre,  but 
the  act  appropriated  only  $25,000  for  the  purpose. 

In  1892  another  act  was  passed  establishing  a  State  Park  to  be  known 
as  the  Adirondack  Park,  which  should  be  "forever  reserved,  maintained 
and  cared  for  as  ground  open  for  the  free  use  of  all  the  People  for  their 
health  or  pleasure  and  as  forest  lands  necessary  to  the  preservation  of  the 
head  waters  of  the  chief  rivers  of  the  State  and  a  future  timber  supply." 
And  the  Forest  Commission  was  authorized  to  purchase  land  in  certain 
counties  mentioned.  They  were,  however,  given  power  to  sell  any  portion 
of  the  lands  within  specified  counties  the  ownership  of  which,  in  their 
opinion,  was  not  needed  to  promote  the  purposes  in  view.  The  theory 
was,  apparently,  that  detached  pieces  could  be  sold  and  that  the  proceeds 
would  be  sufficient  to  buy  the  desired  amount  within  the  park  limits, 
and  no  adequate  appropriation  was  made  for  independent  acquisition 
on  any  suitable  scale.  This  policy,  however,  was  not  a  successful  one, 
and  as  Governor  Flower  in  his  annual  message  of  1893  said,  "the  results 
today  after  nearly  seven  years'  effort  to  establish  an  Adirondack  Park 
are  disappointing."  He  pointed  out  that  while  the  existing  methods 
would  answer  "the  temporary  purpose  of  getting  rid  of  lands  useless  for 
a  forest  preserve  and  acquiring  other  lands  needed  so  far  as  the  proceeds 
of  sales  would  permit,  it  would  not  do  for  a  permanent  and  exclusive 
State  policy."  He  added  that  if  it  was  the  desire  of  the  People  that  the 
State  should  absolutely  own  two  or  three  million  acres  of  the  forest  pre- 
serve, the  lands  should  be  acquired  at  once  by  right  of  eminent  domain, 
and  the  operation  should  be  comprehensive  and  decisive,  which  would 
"be  vastly  more  economical  in  the  long  run  than  the  present  policy  of 
purchase  by  driblets." 

Governor  Flower's  specific  recommendations  (in  connection  with  a 
reorganization  of  the  Forest  Commission)  were,   (1)   that  forest  tracts 


(317) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


owned  by  individuals  or  private  associations  and  used  mainly  for  the  pur- 
pose of  recreation  should  be  secured  as  a  part  of  the  forest  preserve  and 
guarded  against  denudation  by  a  contract  with  the  State  providing  for 
exemption  from  taxation  in  consideration  of  forest  protection  and  restric- 
tions on  the  removal  of  timber,  and  (2)  that  revenue  should  be  secured 
to  the  State  "by  granting  permission  to  fell  trees  above  a  certain  diameter 
on  State  lands  and  to  remove  the  timber." 

Legislation  embodying  these  recommendations  was  enacted  in  1893 
and  the  results  were  thus  stated  by  Governor  Flower  in  his  next  annual 


message : 


These  recommendations  were  promptly  embodied  in  law,  and  the  new  Forest  Com- 
mission is  now  able  to  report  that  225,000  acres  of  Adirondack  land  have  been  offered 
to  the  State  upon  the  terms  of  the  proposed  contract  and  that  standing  spruce  timber 
exceeding  twelve  inches  in  diameter  has  been  sold  on  17,468  acres  of  State  land,  from 
which  it  is  expected  that  the  first  year's  cutting  will  yield  to  the  State  a  revenue  of 
$52,400.  These  prompt  results  are  exceedingly  gratifying.  It  thus  appears  that 
the  State  forest  preserve  has  been  increased  by  probably  a  million  dollars'  worth  of 
lands  without  any  direct  appropriation  of  public  money,  and  that  the  first  year  of 
intelligent  administration  under  the  new  law  has  insured  to  the  State  an  annual 
revenue  largely  in  excess  of  the  entire  cost  of  maintaining  the  Forestry  Bureau.  Every 
lover  of  the  Adirondack^  and  every  friend  of  forest  preservation  will  rejoice  at  these 
results,  but  they  will  be  particularly  satisfactory  to  the  taxpayers  of  the  State.  If 
from  so  small  a  portion  of  the  Forest  Preserve  so  considerable  a  revenue  is  received 
without  injury  to  the  forests,  we  can  reasonably  look  forward  to  the  time  when  the 
Forest  Preserve  will  not  only  be  the  great  conservator  of  our  water  courses  and  the 
restorer  of  health,  but  will  contribute  a  large  part  of  the  money  required  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  State  Government. 

All  sales  of  stumpage  were  to  the  highest  bidder.  Applications  for  sales  were  nu- 
merous and  covered  more  timber  than  the  Forest  Commission  thought  wise  to  sell  at 
that  time.  They  indicate  that  there  will  be  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  an  annual 
revenue  which  shall  not  only  render  the  Department  self-sustaining,  but  will  leave  a 
large  balance,  which  for  the  immediate  future  can  be  applied  annually  on  the  pur- 
chase of  land  and  the  enlargement  of  the  Preserve. 

The  legislative  policy  declared  two  years  ago  of  selling  scattered  and  detached  tracts 
of  State  forest  land  lying  outside  the  limits  of  the  Adirondack  Park  has  been  pursued 
during  the  year,  but  not  many  sales  have  been  made,  owing  to  the  depression  in 
financial  circles. 

In  1894  a  constitutional  convention  was  held,  and  the  desire  of  the 
People  to  safeguard  the  forests  and  to  place  their  preservation  beyond 
tin  reach  of  any  form  of  attack  was  emphatically  expressed.  Public 
opinion  assumed  definite  and  authoritative  statement  in  the  amendment 
to  the  Constitution  which  was  recommended  by  the  convention  and 
adopted  by  the  People.  They  did  not  propose  that  any  devastation  of 
the  State  lands  should  be  permitted  under  any  pretext,  and  they  put 
into  the  Constitution  the  emphatic  words  of  the  statute  of  1885,  which 
as  a  mere  legislative  enactment  had  been  subject  to  legislative  alteration. 
The  amendment  was  as  follows  (Article  VII,  Section  7) : 

(318) 


Statement  by  Governor  Hughes 


The  lands  of  the  State  now  owned  or  hereafter  acquired,  constituting  the  Forest 
Preserve  as  now  fixed  by  law,  shall  be  forever  kept  as  wild  forest  lands.  They  shall 
not  be  leased,  sold,  or  exchanged,  or  be  taken  by  any  corporation,  public  or  private, 
nor  shall  the  timber  thereon  be  sold,  removed  or  destroyed. 

The  policy  o£  forest  preservation  was  thus  embedded  in  the  funda- 
mental law. 

The  special  committee  on  State  Forest  Preservation  of  the  Constitu- 
tional Convention  reported  that  they  were  of  the  opinion  that  "for  the 
perfect  protection  and  preservation  of  the  State  lands,  other  lands  con- 
tiguous thereto  should  as  soon  as  possible  be  purchased,  or  otherwise 
acquired,"  but  they  felt  that  any  action  to  that  end  was  more  properly 
within  the  province  of  the  Legislature  than  of  the  Convention.  Gov- 
ernor Morton  in  his  annual  message  of  1896  described  the  constitutional 
policy  as  one  which  was  "giving  satisfaction  to  the  People"  and  pointed 
out  that  "unless  these  lands  are  acquired  within  a  reasonable  time,  they 
can  only  be  obtained  at  higher  cost  many  years  hence."  Adequate  ap- 
propriations for  extensive  purchases,  however,  were  not  made  until  1897. 
Governor  Black  in  his  annual  message  of  that  year  thus  stated  the  situa- 
tion: 

Private  individuals  have  taken  advantage  of  the  State's  neglect  until  of  the  entire 
Adirondack  region,  consisting  of  more  than  three  and  a  half  million  acres,  the  State 
owns  eight  hundred  and  forty-one  thousand,  less  than  a  quarter,  and  of  the  proposed 
Adirondack  Park  of  two  million  eight  hundred  thousand  acres  it  owns  even  a  smaller 
percentage,  about  six  hundred  and  sixty-one  thousand  acres.     Of  this  proposed  park 
more  than  eight  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  acres  are  held  as  private  preserves  and 
more  than  a  million  and  a  quarter  acres  by  lumbermen  and  others,  so  that  of  the  pro- 
posed total  area  of  two  million  eight  hundred  thousand  acres  more  than  two  millions 
are  owned  by  private  individuals.     More  than  a  million  and  a  quarter  of  the  two 
millions   so  owned   are  now  subject  to  fire  and  axe,  and  the  devastation  wrought 
yearly  is  appalling  and  disgraceful.     More  than  450,000,000  feet  of  wood  and  timber 
are  cut,  and  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  acres  stripped,  every  year.     This  work 
of  devastation  is  progressing  fast.     The  banks  of  the  lakes  and  rivers  and  all  sections 
accessible  from  either  are  ravaged  at  such  a  pace  that  but  few  years  more  can  elapse 
before  that  region,  in  many  respects  the  most  wonderful  and  valuable  in  the  world, 
will  be  practically  destroyed.     The  parts  acquired  or  claimed  by  individuals  are  the 
best.     A  traveler  through  any  desirable  portion  of  that  country  is  sure  to  be  met  with 
the  charge  of  trespassing,  for  the  cases  are  rare  in  which  the  title  of  the  State  to  a 
desirable  tract  is  acknowledged.     Sometime  this  deplorable  condition  must  be  recti- 
fied.    Every  year  the  loss  to  the  State  grows  larger,  in  all  cases  difficult  and  in  some 
cases  impossible  of  recovery.     The  land  is  steadily  and  rapidly  increasing  in  value. 
The  bogus  title  burrows  further  out  of  sight  the  longer  it  is  let  alone.     Witnesses  die, 
and  the  only  thing  sure  to  increase  is  the  encroachment  of  individuals  upon  the  do- 
main of  the  State.     The  enlargement  of  the  canals  will  require  more  water  and  the 
demand  in  every  direction  is  increasing  while  the  supply  is  steadily  falling  off.     A 
subject  of  such  magnitude  should  not  be  postponed  nor  conducted  with  the  halting 
method  which  is  too  apt  to  distinguish  public  enterprises  in  which  large  appropria" 
tions  afford  convenient  resting  places  in  which  office  holders  may  grow  old.     Not 


(319) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

o 


long  ago  the  State  appropriated  a  million  dollars  to  preserve  the  beauties  of  Niagara 
Falls.  That  subject  is  without  significance  compared  to  the  Adirondack  forests. 
Even-  consideration  of  health,  pleasure,  economy  and  safety  urge  the  speedy  con- 
sideration of  this  subject,  and  such  consideration  should  include  appropriations  ade- 
quate to  ascertain  the  nature  of  the  titles  adverse  to  the  State,  and  to  recover  where 
the  titles  are  insufficient  and  to  purchase  where  they  are  valid.  Any  other  course 
would  be  false  and  unwise  economy. 

Thereupon  the  legislature  appropriated  $1,000,000  for  the  acquisition 
of  forest  lands  and  created  "The  Forest  Preserve  Board"  with  authority 
to  purchase  tracts  within  the  Adirondack  Park.  With  this  appropria- 
tion the  Board  acquired  over  250,000  acres  at  an  average  cost  of  $3.74 
per  acre.  In  1898  another  appropriation  was  made  of  $500,000  and  in 
the  vears  1899  and  1900,  under  the  administration  of  Governor  Roose- 
velt, $600,000  were  appropriated  for  these  purposes.  No  further  appro- 
priations were  made  until  1904,  when  there  was  an  addition  of  $250,000. 
In  1906  $400,000  more  was  appropriated  and  this  was  followed  by  an 
appropriation  in  1907  of  $500,000.  With  these  moneys  the  forest  hold- 
ings of  the  State  have  largely  been  increased.  Provision  has  also  been 
made  for  the  acquisition  of  forest  lands  in  the  Catskill  mountains,  and 
the  Catskill  Park  has  been  delimited,  and  purchases  have  been  made  in 
this  region  with  a  portion  of  the  moneys  above  mentioned. 

The  area  of  the  proposed  Adirondack  Park  is  3,313,564  acres  and  that 
of  the  proposed  Catskill  Park  576,120  acres,  making  a  total  of  3,889,684 
acres.  The  land  within  this  Adirondack  Park  now  owned  by  the  State 
amounts  to  1,363,890  acres  and  within  the  Catskill  Park  the  State  owns 
100,920  acres,  making  a  total  of  1,464,810  acres.  The  lands  which  are 
still  held  in  private  ownership  within  these  parks  thus  amount  to  2,424,874 
acres.  The  total  area  of  the  present  State  Forest  Preserve,  including 
the  lands  acquired  within  the  two  parks,  amount  to  1,593,789  acres. 
Purchases  are  made  from  time  to  time  where  they  can  be  effected  on 
advantageous  terms.  The  powers  formerly  possessed  by  the  Forest 
Preserve  Board  are  now  vested  in  the  Forest,  Fish  and  Game  Commis- 
sioner, and  purchases  are  made  by  this  Commissioner  and  two  Commis- 
sioners of  the  Land  Office  (who  are  elected  State  officers)  acting  under 
designation  by  the  Governor.  At  present  the  Purchasing  Board  is  com- 
posed of  the  Forest,  Fish  and  Game  Commissioner,  the  State  Comptroller 
and  the  Speaker  of  the  Assembly. 

The  provision  of  the  Constitution  prohibiting  the  removal  of  timber 
from  State  lands  in  the  forest  preserve  has  been  the  subject  of  criticism 
because  of  the  prevention  of  scientific  forestry.  The  policy  which  makes 
it  necessary  for  trees  to  be  left  to  fall  and  decay  and  makes  no  provision 
for  taking  proper  advantage  of  nature's  laws  of  growth,  maturity,  and 
renewal,  can  not  be  regarded  as  permanent.     Under  careful  superin- 


(320) 


Statement  by  Governor  Hughes 


tendence  the  forests  may  give  their  natural  yield  for  the  benefit  of  the 
people  without  prejudicing  their  preservation  and  indeed  to  their  benefit. 
This  was  emphasized  by  Governor  Black.  But  the  experience  of  the 
past  has  taught  the  People  to  be  cautious  in  examining  proposals  for 
cutting  timber.  They  fear  that  if  the  opportunity  were  offered  for  the 
removal  of  timber  under  any  pretext,  the  strain  upon  State  adminis- 
tration would  be  too  strong  and  that  avarice,  looking  only  for  immediate 
gains,  would  cause  the  most  serious,  if  not  irreparable,  losses.  They 
have  watched  the  destruction  of  the  forests  too  long  to  be  easily  satis- 
fied with  promises.  They  have  not  been  ready  to  take  chances  of  further 
devastation  of  the  forests,  and  they  will  not  be  disposed  to  make  changes 
in  the  constitutional  provision  which  protects  them  until  the  rules  of 
conservative  cutting,  based  upon  proper  regard  for  forest  protection, 
are  so  well  established  and  observed  in  the  exercise  of  private  rights  as 
to  remove  any  menace  to  the  public  interest  in  case  the  State  should  be 
empowered  to  harvest  its  forest  crop. 

As  Governor  Roosevelt  said  in  his  annual  message  of  1900: 

A  primeval  forest  is  a  great  sponge  which  absorbs  and  distills  the  rainwater;  and 
when  it  is  destroyed  the  result  is  apt  to  be  an  alternation  of  flood  and  drought.  Forest 
fires  ultimately  make  the  land  a  desert,  and  are  a  detriment  to  all  that  portion  of  the 
State  tributary  to  the  streams  through  the  woods  where  they  occur.  Every  effort 
should  be  made  to  minimize  their  destructive  influence.  We  need  to  have  our  system 
of  forestry  gradually  developed  and  conducted  along  scientific  principles.  When 
this  has  been  done  it  will  be  possible  to  allow  marketable  lumber  to  be  cut  every- 
where without  damage  to  the  forests — indeed,  with  positive  advantage  to  them;  but 
until  lumbering  is  thus  conducted,  on  strictly  scientific  principles  no  less  than  upon 
principles  of  the  strictest  honesty  toward  the  State,  we  can  not  afford  to  suffer  it  at 
all  in  the  State  forests. 

The  importance  of  forestry  was  also  emphasized  by  Governor  Odell 
and  by  Governor  Higgins.  We  may  therefore  look  forward  to  a  time 
when  improved  methods  of  caring  for  the  forests  will  be  adopted  and 
when  with  advantage  to  the  State's  interests  we  shall  secure  their  proper 
yield.  The  absolute  restriction  of  the  constitutional  amendment  makes, 
however,  an  emphatic  protest  of  the  People  against  any  selfish  designs 
upon  these  resources  of  the  State  and  nothing  will  be  tolerated  which 
will  in  any  degree  open  our  forest  preserve  to  greedy  spoliations. 

The  State  not  only  has  sought  to  protect  its  forests  by  purchases  and 
by  agreements  with  owners  of  forest  tracts,  but  it  has  also  begun  the 
work  of  reforestation.  While  this  has  so  far  been  prosecuted  on  a 
relatively  small  scale,  gratifying  progress  has  been  made.  We  have 
several  nurseries  and  this  year  1, 100,000  pine  and  spruce  trees  have  been 
set  out.  This  work  can  be  conducted  with  comparatively  small  outlay 
and  in  a  constantly  increasing  measure.  Appropriation  was  also  made 
at  the  last  session  of  the  Legislature  to  establish  additional  nurseries  for 
the  propagation  of  forest  trees  to  be  furnished  to  citizens  of  the  State  at 

(321) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


cost  and  to  be  planted  under  the  direction  of  the  Forest,  Fish  and  Game 
Commissioner. 

There  has  also  been  a  heightened  appreciation  of  the  importance  of 
preserving  and  caring  for  our  natural  wonders  and  places  of  rare  beauty 
and  grandeur  which  are  of  inestimable  value  for  the  enjoyment  and 
the  inspiration  of  the  people.  In  1883  provision  was  made  for  the 
appropriation  of  lands  at  Niagara  Falls,  and  a  State  reservation  was 
constituted.  The  Legislature  has  declared  that  it  "shall  forever  be 
reserved  by  the  State  for  the  purpose  of  restoring  the  scenery  of  Niagara 
Falls  and  preserving  it  in  its  natural  condition,  and  kept  open  and  free 
of  access  to  all  mankind  without  fee,  charge,  or  expense  to  any  person 
for  entering  upon  or  passing  to  or  over  any  part  thereof."  A  beautiful 
park  adjoining  the  Falls  has  thus  been  provided,  depredations  have  been 
prevented,  unsightly  structures  have  been  removed,  excellent  roads 
have  been  laid  out,  guard  rails  and  bridges  have  been  built  and  in  all  the 
work  of  improvement  unnecessary  artificialities  have  been  excluded. 
Natural  slopes  have  replaced  artificial  banks,  trees  have  been  planted 
and  barren  spots  have  been  beautified  by  suitable  growths.  Thus  the 
visitor  to  Niagara's  sublime  spectacle  may  view  the  Falls  from  a  border- 
land under  the  protection  of  the  State  where  accessibility  and  conven- 
ience have  been  provided  without  sacrifice  of  beauty.  Efforts  to  pre- 
vent improper  diversion  of  power  and  the  consequent  impairment  of  the 
Falls  culminated  in  the  Burton  bill  passed  by  Congress  in  1906. 

Through  the  influence  of  the  late  Honorable  Andrew  H.  Green,  of  New 
York,  who  had  been  prominent  in  the  work  of  restoring  natural  conditions 
at  Niagara  Falls,  the  American  Scenic  and  Historic  Preservation  Society 
was  founded  in  1895,  an  organization  through  which  the  public  demand 
for  the  preservation  of  places  of  scenic  and  historic  interest  has  found 
powerful  and  effective  expression. 

It  was  in  1895  that  commissioners  were  appointed  in  New  York  to 
meet  with  similar  commissioners  of  New  Jersey  for  the  purpose  of  devis- 
ing means  for  establishing  a  reservation  of  the  Palisades  of  the  Hudson. 
In  1900  the  Palisades  Interstate  Park  was  established  under  the  care  of 
the  two  vStates,  represented  by  a  joint  commission.  A  large  amount  of 
shore  frontage  has  been  acquired,  and  in  this  way  the  devastation  of  the 
Palisades  has,  to  an  important  degree,  been  prevented. 

In  1906  the  beautiful  Watkins  Glen  was  acquired  as  a  State  reserva- 
tion. In  1907  the  Bronx  River  Reserve  was  established,  consisting  of 
lands  on  either  side  of  the  Bronx  river  in  New  York  and  Westchester 
counties,  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  the  river  from  contamination  and 
of  creating  a  parkway  for  public  use. 

L;i  tr  also  tin  State  received  a  munificent  gift  from  William  Pryor 

Letchworth,  a  distinguished  citizen  of  the  State  who  has  rendered  long 

(322) 


Statement  by  Governor  Hughes 


and  notable  service  in  the  cause  of  philanthropy.  Mr  J^etchworth  has 
conveyed  to  the  State,  for  the  purposes  of  a  public  park,  a  tract  of  rare 
beauty  lying  in  Wyoming  and  Livingston  counties  of  about  one  thousand 
acres  in  extent.  Through  this  tract,  now  known  as  Letchworth  Park, 
flows  the  Genesee  river,  with  sublime  scenery  of  canyon  and  waterfall. 
It  is  a  territory  of  extraordinary  variety  of  native  growths,  affording 
exceptional  opportunities  to  the  naturalist  and  a  retreat  of  peculiar 
charm  for  the  lover  of  nature.  This  benefaction  fitly  crowns  a  long  life 
of  devotion  to  the  public  welfare. 

During  the  present  year  another  addition  has  been  made  to  the  State 
reservations  by  provision  for  the  retention  and  development  as  a  public 
park  of  the  property  at  Fire  Island,  on  the  Long  Island  coast,  which  was 
acquired  some  years  ago  for  the  purposes  of  temporary  quarantine.  In 
view  of  the  growth  of  metropolitan  population,  the  holding  of  this  strip 
of  seaboard  for  park  purposes  can  not  fail  to  be  of  great  public  benefit. 

A  matter  of  extreme  importance  to  the  future  prosperity  of  the  State 
is  the  development  and  control  of  its  water  powers.  With  increased 
facilities  in  the  transmission  of  electrical  power,  the  subject  compels 
attention,  as  the  control  of  the  water  powers  of  the  State  will  mean 
largely  the  domination  of  its  industrial  activities.  From  recent  statistics 
it  appears  that  of  the  entire  horsepower  developed  by  water  for  manu- 
facturing purposes  in  the  United  States,  over  one-quarter  is  used  in  New 
York.  And  New  York  is  fortunate  in  having  within  her  borders  so 
many  sources  of  power,  and  in  possessing  extraordinary  opportunities 
for  further  development.  It  is  difficult  to  overestimate  the  great  im- 
portance of  this  subject  and  the  necessity  of  taking  wise  action  at  the 
present  time  in  order  that  we  may  properly  care  for  the  interests  of  the 
future. 

In  my  annual  message  to  the  Legislature  of  1907,  after  referring  to  the 
importance  of  the  policy  of  acquiring  forest  lands,  I  said: 

In  this  connection  it  is  well  to  consider  the  great  value  of  the  undeveloped  water 
powers  thus  placed  under  State  control.  They  should  be  preserved  and  held  for  the 
benefit  of  all  the  People  and  should  not  be  surrendered  to  private  interests.  It  would 
be  difficult  to  exaggerate  the  advantages  which  may  ultimately  accrue  from  these 
great  resources  of  power  if  the  common  right  is  duly  safeguarded. 

After  referring  to  the  legislation  which  had  created  a  Water  Supply 
Commission,  charged  with  duties  with  regard  to  potable  waters  and 
river  improvement,  I  added : 

It  remains  to  be  considered  whether  it  is  not  advisable  to  provide  a  more  compre- 
hensive plan,  embracing  in  a  clearly  defined  way  the  matter  of  water  storage  and  the 
use  of  water  courses  for  purposes  of  power.  The  entire  question  of  the  relation  of 
the  State  to  its  waters  demands  more  careful  attention  than  it  has  hitherto  received  in 
order  that  there  may  be  an  adequate  scheme  of  just  regulation  for  the  public  benefit. 

(323) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


Pursuant  to  this  recommendation,  the  Legislature  of  1907  directed  the 
State  Water  Supply  Commission  "to  collect  information  relating  to  the 
water  powers  of  the  State  and  devise  plans  for  the  development  of  such 
water  powers,"  and  appropriated  $35,000  for  the  purpose.  The  act 
contemplated  a  thorough  investigation  and  the  submission  of  accurate 
information  and  comprehensive  plans. 

The  Commission  entered  zealously  upon  its  work  and  procured  com- 
petent expert  assistance.  In  February  last  it  made  a  valuable  prelimi- 
nary report  in  which  the  general  phases  of  the  subject  were  presented  in  a 
most  interesting  and  instructive  manner: 

Excluding  Niagara  and  St.  Lawrence,  the  rivers  of  the  State,  with  the  proper  storage 
of  their  flood  waters,  are  capable  of  furnishing  at  least  1,000,000  horsepower  for 
industrial  purposes.  On  account  of  the  wide  difference  between  the  minimum  and 
maximum  flow  of  the  streams,  the  minimum  flow  being  the  real  test  of  the  power 
value,  at  least  55  fo  of  their  potential  energy  is  lost  to  the  owners  of  water  rights  and 
to  the  People  of  the  State.  It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  550,000  horsepower  of  energy  is 
annually  allowed  to  run  to  waste  because  no  well-devised  and  comprehensive  plan 
for  the  general  and  systematic  development  of  water  power  has  yet  been  undertaken 
by  the  State. 

At  a  low  estimate  the  advantage  of  water  over  steam  power  is  at  least  $12  per 
horsepower  per  year.  The  annual  earning  capacity  of  the  wasted  energy  based  on 
even  so  low  an  estimate  is  $6,600,000.  Add  to  this  the  $1,000,000  per  year  of  direct 
damage  caused  by  floods,  and  the  indirect  damage  which  no  one  has  yet  been  able  to 
determine,  but  which  is  surely  equal  to  the  direct  damage,  and  the  value  of  an  equal- 
ized flow  during  the  summer  months  in  the  great  rivers,  which  is  not  inconsiderable, 
and  the  possibilities  to  be  derived  from  proper  treatment  of  the  Niagara  and  St. 
Lawrence,  and  the  aggregate  will  give  some  idea  of  the  value  to  be  obtained  by  the 
systematic  development  and  increase  of  the  water  powers  of  the  State. 

The  rivers  of  the  State  are  and  have  been  open  to  inspection  by  every  one.  The 
locations  of  falls  and  power  sites  have  long  been  known  to  individuals  and  it  has  not 
been  difficult  to  acquire  them.  Meantime  the  possibilities  of  power  development 
have  been  steadily  growing  and  the  advantages  to  be  gained  thereby  have  been  con- 
stantly increasing.  It  is  not  strange  therefore  that  far-seeing  men  have  purchased 
nearly  all  of  the  most  desirable  water  power  within  the  State,  except  such  as  may  be 
situate  along  the  boundary  rivers. 

Up  to  this  time  there  has  not  been,  and  under  present  conditions  there  can  not  be, 
Fuch  economical  and  general  development  of  water  power  by  private  interests  as  will 
include  the  storing  of  flood  water  on  a  scale  at  all  commensurate  with  the  advantages 
to  be  gained  thereby.  It  is  from  this  method  that  the  greater  amount  of  increase  is  to 
come.  Moreover,  the  individual  or  corporation  that  invests  money  usually  does  so 
in  the  hope  of  immediate  gain — the  larger  the  immediate  profits  the  more  enthusiastic 
the  promoter.  There  is  therefore  the  temptation  to  cut  out  of  the  work  everything  that 
can  be  postponed  or  avoided,  no  matter  how  essential  it  may  be  to  the  future  success  of 
any  well-considered  plan.  The  storing  of  flood  waters  will  provide  not  only  power 
development  at  the  site  of  the  dam,  but  will  also  increase  the  power  of  every  user  down 
the  stream.  The  fear  of  improving  the  plant  and  the  power  of  a  competitor  might 
well  restrain  an  owner  of  water  power  from  going  farther  upstream  and  building  a 
storage  dam  that  would  increase  the  value  of  his  neighbor's  plant  as  well  as  his  own. 
It  is  also  very  difficult  for  several  interests  to  combine  in  aid  of  such  a  project.     Even 

(324) 


Statement  by  Governor  Hughes 


though  they  should  be  willing  to  engage  in  a  joint  enterprise  for  such  a  purpose,  there 
would  be  still  the  lack  of  power  to  condemn  land  for  storage  purposes  for  which  recourse 
must  be  had  to  the  law-making  body. 

The  United  States  census  of  manufactures  for  1905,  bulletin  88,  shows  that  of  the 
1,647,969  horsepower  developed  by  water  in  the  United  States  for  manufacturing  pur- 
poses, 446,134  or  27^%  was  used  in  the  State  of  New  York.  This  is  more  than  twice 
as  much  as  is  used  by  its  principal  competitor,  the  State  of  Maine,  and  more  than  one- 
half  as  much  as  the  total  steam  power  for  like  purpose  used  in  the  State.  The  increase 
in  water  power  in  this  State  from  1900  to  1905  was  over  100,000  horsepower.  This 
rapid  increase  in  so  short  a  period  is,  without  doubt,  one  of  the  causes  which  has 
attracted  the  attention  of  economists  to  the  value  for  the  State's  own  benefit  of  this 
branch  of  its  natural  resources. 

By  means  of  storage  dams  constructed  by  the  State  at  available  points  in  order  to 
hold  back  the  flood  waters  of  many  of  our  large  rivers,  it  is  possible  so  to  equalize  their 
flow  as  to  more  than  double  the  available  horsepower  they  now  produce.  Such  im- 
provement can  be  made  to  yield  a  revenue  that  will  not  only  pay  the  cost  of  construct- 
ing and  maintaining  the  dams,  but  that  also  will  provide  a  large  income  for  the  State 
for  all  time. 

The  Commission  believes  that  through  the  building  by  the  State  of  storage  dams, 
thus  conserving  water  for  power  purposes,  five  distinct  advantages  will  accrue. 

(a)  The  construction  of  such  dams  will  decrease  the  annual  damage  by  flood  waters. 

(b)  It  will  assure  a  larger  minimum  flow,  which  will  improve  the  sanitary  conditions. 

(c)  It  will  provide  a  deeper  channel  for  the  Hudson,  thus  improving  navigation  and 
ensuring  an  abundance  of  water  for  the  increasing  needs  of  the  canal. 

(d)  It  will  provide  cheaper  power  for  manufacturing  purposes,  and  by  stimulating 
various  industries  furnish  larger  fields  of  employment,  while  insuring  uninterrupted 
labor  in  already  existing  plants. 

(e)  It  will  provide  a  satisfactory  annual  income  to  the  State. 

Each  of  these  points  is  in  itself  worthy  of  the  careful  investigation  which  the  Legisla- 
ture has  directed  to  be  made. 

Controllable  power  is  the  vital  force  in  our  industrial  development  and  one  of  the 
chief  elements  upon  which  civilization  is  based.  Manufactories,  transportation,  and 
artificial  light  are  largely  dependent  upon  it.  The  more  complex  our  civilization,  the 
more  intricate  our  manufacturing  enterprises,  and  the  more  important  rapid  transit 
becomes,  the  greater  our  dependence  upon  this  force.  There  are  two  sources  of  power 
available — coal  and  falling  water.  Both  require  skill  and  money  to  turn  their  latent 
force  into  active  energy.  Coal  once  used  is  gone,  but  water,  however  often  utilized, 
returns  again.  Coal  is  growing  less  plentiful  and  more  expensive,  while  water  by  the 
processes  of  nature  keeps  up  its  original  force  without  additional  cost. 

It  is  universally  conceded  that  the  use  of  falling  water  for  power  purposes  is  much 
more  economical  than  coal.  As  a  competition  becomes  more  acute  the  value  of  water 
power  over  steam  becomes  greater.  Cheap  power  must  continue  to  be  a  vitally 
interesting  subject  to  those  who  manufacture  goods,  provide  transportation,  and  fur- 
nish light.  The  discoveries  which  permit  the  carrying  of  electrical  currents  a  long 
distance  have  largely  increased  the  value  of  falling  water  for  power  purposes.  ^  Such 
power  must  of  necessity  continue  to  grow  in  value  as  new  opportunities  for  its  use 
appear,  and  as  the  price  of  fuel  advances. 

This  is  a  plain  statement  of  an  almost  elementary  truth  with  which  all  who  stop  to 
consider  our  industrial  conditions  are  familiar.  This  economic  condition  is  attracting 
attention  to  the  possibility  of  the  greater  use  of  falling  water  and  constitutes  a  sum- 
mons to  those  in  authority  to  provide  a  way  to  save  the  lost  energy  that  is  annually 
allowed  to  run  to  waste  in  our  rivers. 

(325) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


For  years  nature  has  presented  the  spectacle  of  wasted  energy  in  water  courses,  and 
the  action  of  the  Governor  and  Legislature  in  directing  so  important  a  work  as  the 
conservation  of  this  wasted  power  meets  the  hearty  approval  of  all  who  have  given 
the  subject  serious  thought. 

The  Commission  also  gives  the  results  of  preliminary  studies  in  dif- 
ferent sections  of  the  State.  At  the  last  session  the  Legislature  appro- 
priated $75,000  for  further  investigations  by  the  Commission,  and  it  is 
confidently  expected  that  as  a  result  of  its  work  there  will  be  an  impor- 
tant development  of  our  water  powers  and  their  conservation  for  the 
benefit  of  all  the  People  of  the  State. 

In  connection  with  this  it  may  be  noted  that  the  State  last  year  estab- 
lished a  precedent  of  requiring  proper  compensation  for  grants  of  power 
privileges  in  public  waters. 

Water  power  privileges  have  been  granted  in  the  past  without  any 
provision  for  a  payment  to  the  State  in  return  for  what  the  State  gives. 
These  grants  have  frequently  been  made  without  proper  reservations  or 
conditions  and  without  anything  constituting  a  suitable  consideration. 
They  have  amounted  simply  to  donations  of  public  rights  for  private 
benefit.  It  does  not  fetter  individual  enterprise  to  insist  upon  protec- 
tion of  the  common  interest  and  due  payment  for  what  is  obtained  from 
the  public.  Last  year  on  the  grant  of  a  franchise  to  a  development 
company  which  was  to  develop  power  from  the  St.  Lawrence  river  it 
was  insisted  that  provision  should  be  made  for  compensation  for  the 
privilege  upon  a  sliding  scale  according  to  the  power  developed.  And 
thus  it  was  established  that  hereafter  in  the  State  of  New  York  public 
privileges,  on  terms  of  justice  to  the  investors  and  the  public  alike,  must 
be  paid  for. 

The  conservation  of  our  resources  means  not  simply  their  physical 
preservation  but  the  safeguarding  of  the  common  interest  in  the  boun- 
ties of  nature  and  their  protection  both  from  the  ruthless  hand  of  the 
destroyer  and  from  the  grasp  of  selfish  interest.  The  course  of  events 
in  the  State  of  New  York  during  the  past  few  years,  which  has  been  but 
imperfectly  described,  is  full  of  encouragement  to  those  who  have  faith 
in  the  capacity  of  the  People  to  protect  their  just  concerns  and  to  secure 
administration  which  places  the  general  welfare  above  every  considera- 
tion of  mere  private  advantage.  The  progress  in  the  State  of  New  York 
to  this  end  is  significant  of  a  healthy  growth  of  sentiment  which  the 
meeting  of  this  Conference  can  not  fail  further  to  promote. 


(326) 


Statement  by  Governor  Stuart 


CONSERVATION  OF  PENNSYLVANIA'S  RESOURCES 

Edwin  S.  Stuart 

GOVERNOR   OF    PENNSYLVANIA 

President  Roosevelt  should  be  universally  commended  for  inaugu- 
rating the  national  movement  for  the  conservation  of  our  natural  re- 
sources, and  much  good  is  bound  to  come  from  the  deliberations  of  this 
Conference.  Our  material  development  will  depend  on  the  treatment 
and  care  accorded  our  natural  resources.  The  movement  demands 
prompt  and  intelligent  consideration. 

The  American  People  are  on  the  verge  of  a  timber  famine.  The  annual 
consumption  of  lumber  is  now  more  than  three  times  as  great  as  the 
annual  growth.  At  the  present  rate  of  growth  and  consumption  the 
day  is  not  far  distant  when  the  scarcity  of  wood  will  be  felt  in  our  homes 
as  well  as  in  our  industries.  Equally  serious  is  the  waste  of  soil,  which 
is  due  to  the  reckless  destruction  of  our  forests.  Every  time  our  creeks 
and  rivers  become  muddy  we  can  see  the  action  of  swollen  streams  in 
robbing  the  land  of  its  fertility.  Forests  regulate  the  distribution  of 
rainfall  and  lessen  the  frequency  and  the  destructive  effects  of  floods 

and  freshets. 

Pennsylvania  is  especially  interested  in  the  conservation  of  the  coun- 
try's natural  resources  because  of  the  large  coal  deposits  and  forest 
reservations  found  within  her  borders.  The  annual  floods  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, especially  in  the  Pittsburg  district,  causing  loss  of  life  and  enor- 
mous destruction  of  property  could  be  controlled,  in  large  degree,  and 
probably  prevented  by  proper  forestation  of  the  nonagricultural  lands 
within  the  various  watersheds. 

While  Pennsylvania  was  one  of  the  first  States  in  the  union  to  under- 
take the  conservation  and  development  of  her  forests,  and  has  made  a 
commendable  beginning,  now  owning  more  than  three-quarters  of  a  mil- 
lion acres  of  forest  land,  it  is  hoped  that  the  State  will  ultimately  be  the 
owner  of  at  least  six  million  acres  of  forest  reservations,  and  that  all  own- 
ers of  nonagricultural  land  will  at  an  early  date  devote  it  to  the  growing 
of  trees.  The  forestry  work  in  Pennsylvania  began  in  1893,  principally 
through  the  efforts  of  Dr  J.  T.  Rothrock,  the  Ex-Commissioner  of  For- 
estry for  Pennsylvania,  now  a  member  of  the  State  Forestry  Commission, 
to  whom  much  credit  is  due  for  the  forest  reservations  the  State  now 
owns.  The  first  lands  were  purchased  in  1897.  The  State  has  already 
expended  more  than  $2,225,000  for  the  purchase  and  care  of  forest  lands. 
Pennsylvania  having  thus  early  recognized  the  vital  importance  of  con- 

(327) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


serving  her  forests,  created  the  Department  of  Forestry,  conferred  upon 
it  broad  powers  and  gave  it  large  appropriations,  The  Legislature  of 
1907  appropriated  for  the  two  fiscal  years  beginning  June  1,  1907, 
$500,000  for  the  purchase  of  forestry  lands  and  about  $200,000  for  the 
purchase  of  seedling  trees,  for  the  payment  of  the  employment  of  forest- 
ers and  forest  rangers  and  for  other  necessary  expenses  incurred  by  the 
Department  of  Forestry.  As  an  example  of  thorough  and  systematic 
forestry,  Pennsylvania  has  to  -a  large  extent  been  able  to  prove  that  the 
heretofore  vital  problems  of  forest  administration,  especially  that  of  for- 
est fires,  have  to  a  great  extent  been  solved.  The  value  of  forest  timber 
destroyed  by  reason  of  forest  fires  was  reduced  from  $834,000  in  1900  to 
$70,000  in  1906,  proving  conclusively  that  the  employment  of  foresters 
and  rangers  by  the  Department  of  Forestry  in  Pennsylvania  has  been 
wise  and  profitable. 

We  have  established  in  our  State  and  are  conducting  a  State  Forestry 
Academy  with  gratifying  results,  wherein  young  men  are  taught  the  prin- 
ciples of  scientific  and  practical  forestry.  After  graduation  they  are 
employed  as  foresters  on  the  Pennsylvania  reserves.  This  Forestry 
Academy,  I  am  informed,  is  the  only  institution  of  its  kind  in  the  western 
hemisphere. 

Physical  geography  and  history  combine  to  testify  that  a  well  watered 
country  is  always  a  prosperous  country.  Nations  which  fail  to  conserve 
their  water  supplies  have  already  begun  to  decay.  The  community  that 
has  an  abundance  of  pure  drinking  water  will  rear  a  vigorous  and  stal- 
wart race. 

In  the  Department  of  Health  in  Pennsylvania,  in  the  State  Capitol, 
hangs  a  large  map  designed  with  the  object  of  indicating  the  sources  of 
water  supply  of  the  State  as  a  guide  to  her  engineers  in  studying  ques- 
tions of  pollution  of  streams.  No  one  looking  at  this  map  can  fail  to 
note  with  amazement  the  wonderful  way  in  which  nature  has  provided 
her  with  water  courses. 

There  is  scarcely  a  square  mile  of  Pennsylvania's  territory  which  is  not 
intersected  by  a  stream.  Many  of  these  are  mighty  rivers  of  great  volume 
and  length.  Others  are  of  very  rapid  flow,  constituting  immense  sources 
of  supply.  All  spread  fertility  and  prosperity  along  their  borders  and 
promise  support  to  a  teeming  population  so  long  as  they  are  preserved 
in  their  original  abundance  and  purity.  Pure  food  and  pure  air  are 
essential  of  course,  but  they  are  less  requisites  for  life  than  is  pure  water. 

In  the  conservation  of  our  water  supply  the  restrictions  of  our  drink- 
ing waters  to  their  virgin  purity  must  be  held  steadily  in  view  as  an  ideal. 
Pennsylvania's  possession  of  other  valuable  resources  readily  convertible 
into  cash,  such  as  coal,  lumber,  oil  and  natural  gas,  has  diverted  the  atten- 
tion of  her  People  from  the  prime  importance  of  protecting  her  water- 

(328) 


Statement  by  Governor  Stuart 


sheds.  Hillsides  are  denuded  and  farms  too  often  lie  idle.  Side  by  side 
with  this  neglect  of  a  great  natural  advantage  goes  the  willful  waste  and 
even  destruction  of  those  other  natural  resources.  The  supply  of  oil  is 
manifestly  diminishing.  Experts  can  with  reasonable  certainty  deter- 
mine the  period  when  anthracite  will  be  exhausted.  It  is  fast  becoming 
a  luxury.  The  bituminous  deposits  are  vaster  indeed,  but  they  are  all 
being  noticeably  depleted.  The  large  deposits  of  coal,  anthracite  and 
bituminous,  which  underlie  the  valleys,  hills  and  mountains  of  our  State 
one  of  these  days  will  have  been  exhausted.  It  is  exceedingly  proper  that 
some  steps  should  be  taken  to  conserve  these  deposits.  The  coal  output 
in  Pennsylvania  for  1907  was  235,615,485  tons,  which  represents  a  ton- 
nage almost  as  large  as  Great  Britain,  and  about  five  times  as  large  as 
any  other  State  in  the  Union.  Pennsylvania  is  the  greatest  coal  produc- 
ing territory  in  the  world.  Coal  is  produced  in  thirty-seven  counties, 
the  anthracite  field  comprising  ten  counties  and  the  bituminous  twenty- 
seven.  More  than  50%  of  the  total  production  of  coal  in  the  United 
States  from  18 14  to  the  close  of  1907,  or  3,786,447,565  tons,  was  mined 
in  Pennsylvania. 

Government  statistics  show  that  great  quantities  of  coal  are  being 
wasted  every  year  in  the  United  States  through  improper  methods.  This 
statement  compels  the  serious  conclusion  that  one  of  the  most  important 
problems  before  the  country  is  the  conservation  not  only  of  our  timber, 
but  also  of  our  fuel  supplies. 

For  long  to  come  steam  will  be  our  principal  motive  power.  But 
steam  requires  the  consumption  of  immense  amounts  of  fuel.  Even  if 
we  succeed  in  replacing  our  destroyed  forests,  some  other  source  of  energy 
must  be  sought  by  which  the  consumption  of  coal  by  the  steam  engine 
may  be  diminished.  The  only  other  available  source  at  the  present  time 
is  gravity,  through  the  development  of  water  power.  Pennsylvania  is 
both  mountainous  and  well  watered,  the  two  essential  conditions  for  the 
development  of  water  power.  To  be  available  both  for  power  and  for 
transportation  the  use  of  water  must  be  controlled  properly.  Fortu- 
nately its  employment  for  other  purposes  need  not  in  the  least  interfere 
with  its  use  for  agricultural  or  drinking  purposes  if  conducted  under 
proper  restrictions. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  conditions  of  intercommunication  a 
century  ago,  we  are  dependent  today  for  our  very  existence  on  the  great 
transcontinental  trunk  lines  of  railway.  In  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  developed  her  inland  water- 
ways to  a  very  extensive  degree  and  spent  thereon  upwards  of  forty  mil- 
lions of  dollars.  The  canals  built  by  private  enterprise  may  have  repre- 
sented an  investment  equally  as  great.  The  slack-water  improvements 
of  the  Monongahela  river  have  been  taken  over  by  the  Federal  Govern- 

(329) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


ment  and  great  changes  in  navigation  have  been  carried  fonvard  on  that 
river,  and  the  Allegheny  and  Ohio  rivers  keep  pace  with  the  remarkable 
commercial  developments  of  the  Pittsburg  district.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  about  the  value  of  water  transportation  for  certain  kinds  of  freight. 
Whether,  however,  from  considerations  apart  from  conserving  natural 
resources  it  would  be  profitable  to  rehabilitate  the  canals  of  Pennsylvania 
or  to  maintain  slack-water  navigation  of  her  streams  in  conjunction  with 
demands  for  the  development  of  water  power  is  a  subject  for  cautious 
and  deliberate  consideration. 

Undoubtedly  stream  navigation  improvement  would  call  for  regulation 
and  control  of  the  rivers  and  their  watersheds.  Preservation  and  replace- 
ment of  forests  as  conservators  of  moisture,  and  construction  of  reserv oirs 
to  hold  back  floods  and  to  deliver  the  water  during  dry  periods  are  col- 
lateral matters.  The  deforestation  of  the  extensive  mountainous  regions 
in  Pennsylvania  has  caused  the  rivers  which  rise  in  our  State  at  times  to 
shrink  to  their  narrowest  limits,  and  at  others  to  become  mighty  torrents 
overflowing  their  banks,  destroying  lives,  and  damaging  property  to  the 
extent  of  many  millions  of  dollars.  By  attention  to  farm  cultivation  at 
the  headwaters,  by  reforestation  of  denuded  areas  and  by  attention  to 
other  details  of  stream  control,  wealth  would  be  added  to  the  Common- 
wealth. The  waste  of  each  by  negligence  now  is  inexcusable.  The  life 
not  only  of  Pennsylvania  but  of  the  entire  nation  is  absolutely  dependent 
upon  the  conservation  of  her  water  supplies,  of  her  forests,  of  her  ma- 
terials for  combustion,  and  of  her  other  natural  resources. 


CONSERVATION  OF  HUMAN  LIFE 
Andrew  L.  Harris 

GOVERNOR   OF    OHIO 

Feeling  that  the  conservation  of  the  lives  of  our  People  is  a  most  im- 
portant subject,  deserving  of  the  highest  consideration,  the  following  pre- 
amble and  resolution  are  placed  before  the  Conference  in  lieu  of  any 
more  extended  address: 

Whereas,  The  conservation  of  human  life  is  a  consideration  paramount  in  its  moral 
and  economic  significance  to  the  conservation  of  natural  material  resources;   be  it 

ol-oed.  That  this  Conference  appoint  a  Committee  to  investigate  the  subject  of 
protection  for  human  life,  however  employed  in  the  vitalization  of  natural  material 
resources,  and  to  recommend  such  regulations  for  adoption  by  the  several  States  as, 
in  its  judgment,  will  tend  to  prevent,  to  the  fullest  possible  limit,  personal  injury  or 
loss  of  life  by  workmen  employed  in  such  vocations. 

(33o) 


Statement  by  Governor  Warner 


MICHIGAN  AND  HER  RESOURCES 
Fred  M.  Warner 

GOVERNOR   OF    MICHIGAN 

The  distinguished  president  of  the  University  of  Michigan  has  assured 
you  of  the  hearty  sympathy  of  the  Peninsular  State  in  this  important 
movement  which  has  for  its  object  the  conservation  of  the  resources  of 
the  country.  It  simply  remains  for  me,  the  Chief  Executive  of  the  State, 
to  pledge  you  the  enthusiastic  support  of  our  People  in  all  well-directed 
and  legitimate  efforts  to  make  the  most  of  that  which  we  have  and  to 
rehabilitate  the  places  which,  through  lack  of  foresight  or  overdeveloped 
energy,  have  been  laid  waste  and  exhausted. 

While  the  great  question  which  has  been  considered  at  this  Conference 
is  one  which  concerns  alike  all  sections  of  our  country  and  stretches  far 
into  the  future  in  its  bearing  upon  the  lives  and  the  welfare  of  our  chil- 
dren and  our  children's  children,  it  is  of  greater  importance  to  no  State 
and  no  People  than  to  the  great  State  of  Michigan  and  its  inhabitants. 

Endowed  by  nature  with  what  appeared  to  the  early  inhabitants  to 
be  inexhaustible  resources  of  mine  and  forest,  bordered  by  the  majestic 
sweep  of  the  Great  Lakes,  traversed  by  inland  waterways  of  unusual 
capacity  and  dotted  with  hundreds  of  beautiful  lakes  which  contribute 
in  no  small  degree  to  the  transportation  facilities  of  the  State,  and  blessed 
with  unsurpassed  agricultural  wealth  and  possibilities,  Michigan  has  a 
peculiar  interest  in  all  the  phases  of  the  work  of  this  Conference. 

Its  citizens  have  seen  its  vasts  forests  practically  exhausted,  and  its 
mines  invaded  to  an  extent  that  threatens  their  depletion.  They  have 
seen  other  resources  of  the  Commonwealth  wasted  through  a  lack  of  ap- 
preciation of  their  value  and  of  the  fact  that  it  was  possible  to  exhaust 
them. 

Having  in  mind  the  lesson  thus  learned  at  so  great  a  cost,  the  people 
of  Michigan  welcome  any  movement  which  seeks  to  insure  only  a  wise 
use  of  these  great  gifts  of  nature  and  their  preservation  for  the  needs  of 
future  generations.  They  are  also  ready  and  eager  to  heartily  cooperate 
in  the  work,  to  the  greatest  possible  degree,  of  making  glad  the  waste 
places  and  restoring  to  the  fullest  extent  that  which  has  been  utilized 
either  wisely  or  otherwise  to  the  end  that  those  who  come  after  them 
may  enjoy  the  blessings  of  nature  which  have  been  or  still  are  theirs. 

In  this  connection  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  emphasize  the  need  for 
widespread  and  intelligent  cooperation  in  the  work  of  lessening  the  enor- 
mous fire  waste  annually  experienced  in  this  country.  Here  is  a  calamity, 
to  a  large  degree  preventable,  which  utterly  and  completely  removes  great 

(331) 
56254—09 24 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


values  from  the  face  of  the  earth.  Through  insurance  funds  and  other- 
wise the  property  thus  destroyed  can,  to  a  large  measure,  be  replaced, 
but  it  can  never  be  restored.  Fire  is  annually  wiping  out  for  all  time 
resources  which  should  be  protected  and  preserved  for  the  benefit  and 
use  of  mankind.  In  the  work  of  fire  prevention  through  laws  and  ordi- 
nances which  will  insure  better  building  construction,  and  through  the 
application  of  penalties  for  permitting  preventable  fires,  we  can  learn 
much  from  the  older  countries  of  the  world.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the 
scope  of  the  beneficent  work  which  will  follow  in  the  wake  of  this  Confer- 
ence will  be  made  to  include  this  important  feature. 

The  time  for  action  is  now.  Coordinated  effort  has  already  been  too 
long  delayed.  Michigan  welcomes  the  call  to  action  and  pledges  its  loyal 
and  enthusiastic  support. 


NATIONAL  EFFICIENCY 
Henry  A.  Buchtee 

GOVERNOR   OE   COLORADO 


The  most  cheering  fact  about  this  first  Conference  of  Governors  with 
the  President  is  the  manifest  purpose  to  find  points  of  contact  and  to 
avoid  points  of  divergence.  When  we  reach  that  stage  of  development 
where  the  representatives  of  the  People  in  all  legislative  assemblies  shall 
be  seeking  points  of  contact  and  avoiding  points  of  divergence,  we  shall 
find  adequate  solution  of  every  perplexing  public  question.  A  difficult 
public  question  is  half  solved  in  our  country  when  it  is  clearly  stated. 
This  is  true  because  the  heart  of  the  Nation  is  sound. 

The  situation  we  now  face  in  the  possible  exhaustion  of  our  natural 
resources  should  arouse  all  State  legislatures  and  the  National  Congress 
to  provide  the  necessary  legislation  through  which  we  may  make  an  end 
of  reckless  waste.  This  Conference  of  our  Executive  Officers  has  stated 
the  problem  with  clearness.  Next  comes  the  solution.  That  is  the  busi- 
ness of  State  Legislatures  and  the  National  Congress. 

The  next  Conference  of  Governors  with  the  President  ought  to  give 
some  time  to  the  consideration  of  that  larger  and  greater  problem  to 
which  President  Roosevelt  called  attention  in  his  opening  address,  namely, 
the  problem  of  national  efficiency.  That  in  the  last  analysis  is  the  most 
conspicuous  of  all  our  national  problems.  We  dare  not  stop  with  the 
consideration  of  the  creation  and  conservation  of  material  wealth  as  an 
end  in  itself,  but  we  must  always  consider  the  creation  and  conservation 
of  material  wealth  as  a  means  to  the  true  end  of  our  national  life,  which 
is  the  making  of  men  and  women  of  sound  moral  fiber. 

(332) 


Statement  by  Governor  Brooks 


WYOMING'S  VIEW  OF  FORESTS 
Bryant  B.  Brooks 

GOVERNOR    OF   WYOMING 

Since  listening  to  the  able  remarks  made  yesterday  by  the  Honorable 
Secretary  of  the  Interior  relative  to  water  power  development  in  the 
forest  reserves  and  their  control  by  the  Federal  Government,  I  feel  that 
Wyoming's  position  in  this  matter  should  be  briefly  stated. '  Wyoming 
is  one  of  the  best  watered  States  in  the  arid  West.  Her  streams  and 
rivers  feed  both  oceans  and  fertilize  the  farms  of  every  adjacent  State. 
Our  rivers  have  a  vertical  fall  of  nearly  a  mile  from  their  source  to  where 
they  leave  the  borders  of  the  State.  Consequently  the  opportunities 
for  water  power  development  are  simply  endless  and  beyond  computation. 

In  the  near  future  this  water  power  will  be  utilized,  and  in  granting 
water-power  rights  Wyoming  has  determined  to  protect  posterity  and 
profit  by  the  experience  of  some  older  States  and  nations.  We  know 
that  the  water-power  resources  of  Wyoming  have  an  enormous  value, 
and  should  be  developed  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole  State,  rather  than 
made  a  means  of  taxing  the  State  for  the  enrichment  of  outside  cor- 
porations. 

There  is  no  reason  in  economics  or  good  government  why  any  State 
should  give  perpetually  free  water  power  sites  to  wealthy  syndicates, 
knowing  that  later  on  these  will  be  amalgamated  into  huge  companies,' 
constituting  monopolies  of  energy  more  indefensible  and  irritating  than 
the  present  monopoly  of  oil. 

In  Italy  water-power  rights  are  limited  to  thirty  years,  and  any  party 
developing  power  pays  sixty  cents  per  year  per  horsepower,  and  at  the 
end  of  the  thirty-year  period  this  is  subject  to  further  regulation;  yet 
American  machinery  is  being  purchased  and  used  to  develop  power  under 
these  laws.  In  Canada,  any  party  making  a  filing  on  water  power  has  to 
pay  a  tax  on  that  filing  from  date  of  making  it,  whether  he  develops  it  or 
not.  Furthermore,  this  Canadian  power  privilege  is  a  license,  subject 
to  an  annual  license  fee  and  a  regulation  of  charges,  whenever  the  Gov- 
ernment thinks  fit. 

Wyoming  intends  to  act  along  these  lines.  Under  our  State  Constitu- 
tion, "The  waters  of  all  natural  streams,  springs,  lakes  or  other  collections 
of  still  water  within  the  boundaries  of  the  State  are  declared  to  be  the 
property  of  the  State,"  and  our  Constitution  states  further,  "Water 
being  essential  to  industrial  prosperity,  of  limited  amount  and  easy 
diversion  from  its  natural  channels,  its  control  must  be  in  the  State, 

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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


which  in  providing  for  its  use  shall  equally  guard  all  the  various  interests 

involved." 

Bearing  this  clause  of  our  Constitution  in  mind,  the  people  of  Wyoming 
believe  the  Federal  Government  can  exercise  no  control  over  the  waters 
of  Wyoming,  and  that  certainly  the  Forestry  Department  has  no  right 
to  charge  for  power  privileges  or  for  water  which  runs  from  various 
reserves.  We  do  not  believe  in  the  idea  of  accomplishing  all  reforms 
through  Federal  agencies.  We  consider  water-power  privileges,  irriga- 
tion and  drainage  as  essentially  local  matters,  leaving  to  the  people  of 
our  State  the  full  right  under  our  Constitution  to  use  the  water  and  to 
say  how  it  shall  be  conserved  and  controlled.  These  corporations  are 
purely  domestic  in  their  character  and  should  be  controlled  by  the  State, 
and  all  charges  made  upon  them  should  go  to  the  benefit  of  the  State 
and  not  to  increase  Federal  revenue;  and  inasmuch  as  these  industries 
and  plants  can  and  should  only  be  subjected  to  a  reasonable  charge,  any 
fee  laid  upon  them  by  the  Federal  Government  diminishes  by  that 
amount  the  income  that  the  people  of  the  State  may  be  able  to  derive 
from  the  development  of  resources  of  this  character. 

Wyoming  has  already  framed  wise  laws  and  regulations  to  govern  the 
use  of  water  for  irrigation,  and  the  same  can  be  applied  to  hydro-electric 
development.  On  the  other  hand,  so  far  as  I  know,  the  National  Gov- 
ernment has  never  suggested  any  rules  or  regulations  relating  to  the 
supervision  or  administration  of  this  natural  resource.  To  date,  no 
misuse  has  been  made  of  the  water-power  resources  of  Wyoming,  and 
the  people  of  that  State  feel  fully  competent,  without  any  assistance 
from  the  Federal  Government,  to  see  to  it  that  no  waste  or  misuse  occurs 
in  the  future. 


CONSERVATION  IN  HAWAII 
Walter  F.  Frear 

GOVERNOR   OF   HAWAII 

Even  the  most  far-reaching  problems  may  often  be  illumined  and 
sometimes  solved  by  observation  or  experiment  upon  a  small  scale. 
The  laboratory,  by  its  processes  of  bringing  forces  into  clear  relations, 
may  in  a  moment  disclose  principles  that  centuries  of  national  or  world- 
wide experience  have  left  unsuspected.  Little,  distant  Hawaii,  now  an 
integral  pari  of  the  Union  as  a  full-fledged  Territory,  has  been,  ever  since 
the  beginning  of  Christian  civilization  there  less  than  a  century  ago,  a 
veritable  laboratory  of  industrial  as  well  as' sociological  experimentation 

(334) 


Statement  by  Governor  Frear 


under  conditions  that  have  seemed  almost  artificial  in  the  clearness  of 
the  relations  of  the  operative  forces.  It  may  be  that  she  can  shed  light, 
at  least  by  way  of  illustration,  upon  some  of  the  needs,  methods,  and 
means  involved  in  the  all-important  national  questions  presented  to  the 
Conference. 

I  will  present  but  two  points.  The  first  is  the  marvelous  results  of 
the  application  of  science  to  agriculture.  That  has  been  in  large  measure 
the  making  of  Hawaii  industrially. 

That  Territory  is  a  group  of  lofty  islands  of  recent  volcanic  origin, 
within  the  tropics,  remote  from  the  world's  markets.  Practically  with- 
out mineral  resources,  she  is  dependent  mainly  on  her  soils;  but, 
although  nearly  as  large  as  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island  combined! 
so  much  of  her  area  is  so  high  or  so  precipitous  or  so  recently  formed  or 
so  dry  or  otherwise  unsuited  to  marketable  crops  that  only  a  very  small 
percentage  can  be  classed  as  arable  in  its  natural  condition  and  in  the 
present  state  of  knowledge.  Obviously,  if  she  is  to  support  a  large 
population,  science  must  do  what  nature  has  left  undone,  and  accord- 
ingly perhaps  nowhere  else  is  science  now  being  more  resorted  to  for 
agricultural  purposes,  and  yet  only  a  beginning  has  been  made. 

The  limited  extent  of  arable  public  land  in  Hawaii— and,  comparatively 
speaking,  now  on  the  Mainland— calls  for  the  greatest  care  in  its  disposi- 
tion. Adequate  precautions  should  be  taken  to  insure  its  disposition  in 
general  only  to  bona  fide  settlers  and  in  not  larger  quantities  to  each  than 
can  be  put  to  best  use;  and  until  a  superior  use  can  be  found  for  the  large 
areas  still  held  as  public  land  for  which  no  such  use  is  known  at  present, 
they  should  in  general  be  retained  or  disposed  of  only  temporarily  by 
lease  or  otherwise  until  a  superior  use  is  discovered  for  them.  Hawaii's 
experience  in  earlier  liberal  disposition  of  the  lands  and  later  discoveries 
of  superior  uses  emphasizes  the  need  of  such  precautions. 

Until  a  few  years  ago  attention  in  Hawaii  was  directed  almost  exclu- 
sively to  the  production  of  cane  sugar,  which,  in  spite  of  various  adverse 
natural  conditions,  has  been  brought  by  the  application  of  science  to  the 
highest  point  of  efficiency  yet  attained  anywhere— so  much  so,  indeed, 
that  from  her  comparatively  small  acreage  of  cultivated  land  Hawaii  will 
produce  this  year  more  than  $40,000,000  worth  of  sugar  alone,  or  more 
than  one-sixth  of  this  country's  consumption  of  that  product,  and  her 
exports  and  imports,  with  this  product  as  almost  their  sole  basis  directly 
and  indirectly,  will  considerably  exceed  those  of  the  entire  United  States 
at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution. 

Hawaii  being  within  the  tropics,  the  question  of  water  is  of  superlative 
importance.  The  rainfall  is  abundant,  ranging  from  a  few  inches  to 
several  hundred  inches  a  year  according  to  localitv,  but  the  more  abun- 
dant fall  is  usually  distant  from  the  land  where  it  is  most  needed.     The 

(335) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


problem  is  that  of  its  conservation  by  way  of  preventing  it  from  escaping 
immediately  to  the  sea  in  freshets,  and  that  of  transferring  it  to  the  arid 
lands.  It  has  been  demonstrated  that  land  which,  with  an  ample  supply 
of  water  properly  applied  produces,  say,  10  tons  of  sugar  to  the  acre, 
produces  only  four-fifths  of  a  ton  under  a  rainfall  of  32^  inches  a  year. 
Most  of  the  irrigated  plantations  have  less  than  this  amount  of  rainfall; 
105,000  acres  or  about  one-half  of  the  213,000  acres  devoted  to  sugar 
production,  only  about  one-half  of  which  is  cropped  annually,  is  practi- 
cally reclaimed  arid  land,  entirely  through  private  enterprise.  The  recla- 
mation of  this  land  has  involved  an  expenditure  of  about  $15,000,000  or 
more  than  Si 40  per  acre  in  initial  outlay  for  the  construction  of  ditch, 
tunnel,  flume  and  pipe  lines,  reservoirs,  pumping  plants,  artesian  and 
surface  wells,  and  electric  plants  for  the  generation  of  power  for  pumping 
plants.  A  single  system  for  one  group  of  plantations  includes  about 
225  miles  of  main  and  lateral  ditches,  tunnels,  etc.,  costing  a  million  and 
a  half  dollars,  besides  wells,  reservoirs  and  pumping  plants.  In  one 
instance,  electric  power  is  generated  by  water  on  the  rainy  side  of  the 
island  for  the  operation  of  pumps  on  the  opposite  or  dry  side.  There  are 
in  pumps  in  operation  with  a  capacity  of  580,000,000  gallons  per  24 
hours.  Sixty  per  cent  of  the  water  used  on  irrigated  plantations  is 
pumped.  The  average  lift  is  191  feet,  with  a  maximum  of  550  feet. 
One  acre  requires  about  5,000,000  gallons  per  crop  or  about  10,000  gal- 
lons per  day.  The  expense  is  great  but  it  is  a  necessity  and  it  pays.  The 
irrigated  lands  produce  nearly  twice  as  much  as  the  unirrigated.  Though 
constituting  only  half  the  total  area,  they  produce  about  two-thirds  of 
the  total  output  of  500,000  tons  of  sugar. 

In  view  of  the  foregoing,  the  preservation  and  extension  of  forests  are 
obviously  prime  necessities.  The  typical  island  consists  of  a  high  central 
mountain  with  radiating  ridges  and  valleys.  From  ancient  times  the 
islands  have  been  subdivided  in  apple-pie  fashion,  the  typical  main  divi- 
sion of  land  extending  from  seashore  to  mountain  top  and  comprising 
one  or  more  valleys  with  their  side  ridges.  Even  in  ancient  times  each 
valley  had  its  own  net-work  of  small  ditches  for  purposes  of  irrigation. 
The  watersheds  are  short;  the  slopes,  steep;  there  are  few  permanent 
springs;  it  is  the  forests  that  must  be  relied  on  to  hold  the  water  for  the 
steady  supply  of  the  streams.  The  relation  between  the  forests  above 
and  the  near-by  arable  plains  or  gentle  slopes  below  in  respect  of  water 
supply  is  too  obvious  to  be  disputed.  Before  the  possibilities  and  needs 
of  irrigation  became  apparent,  much  wasting  of  the  forests  by  cutting 
and  through  destruction  by  live  stock  was  permitted,  with  most  disas- 
trous results,  as  it  now  appears.  Accordingly,  more  than  thirty  years 
ago,  steps  were  taken  by  legislation  for  the  preservation  and  extension 
of  the  forests,  but  not  until  five  years  ago  was  a  comprehensive  statute 

(336) 


Statement  by  Governor  Frear 


passed  creating  an  effective  board  of  agriculture  and  forestry  with  ade- 
quate powers.     Since  then  444,000  acres  have  been  set  aside  by  16  proc- 
lamations of  the  Governor  on  the  recommendation  of  the  board  as  forest 
reservations,  of  which  61%  is  Government  land,  and  within  the  next 
few  years  this  area  is  expected  to  be  extended  to  about  750,000  acres,  or 
about  80%  of  the  total  forest  area,  of  which  about  70%  will  be  Govern- 
ment land.     Government  and  private  lands  are  sandwiched  in  with  each 
other  and  it  is  of  the  greatest  importance  that  the  Government  and  pri- 
vate owners  cooperate  with  each  other  in  this  matter.     Fortunately  the 
need  is  so  obvious  and  the  methods  of  procedure  have  been  of  so  friendly 
a  nature  that  practically  no  difficulty  has  been  experienced  in  obtaining 
the  active  cooperation  of  private  owners  in  the  setting  aside  and  fencing 
of  reservations  and  the  keeping  out  of  live  stock.     In  addition  to  this 
nearly  one-fourth  of  the  sugar  corporations,  besides  many  ranchmen  and 
others,  are  actively  engaged  in  tree  planting.     Only  a  comparatively 
small  percentage  of  forest  area  or  area  available  for  forest  on  the  mainland 
is  in  Government  ownership.     If  forestry  is  to  be  carried  to  the  extent 
desired  it  is  essential  that  private  owners  be  induced  to  cooperate  with 
the  Government  or  else  that  private  lands  be  condemned  for  forest  pur- 
poses.    The  principal  means  of  bringing  about  cooperation  would  seem 
to  be  education— a  means  which  this  Conference  will  largely  serve  to 
effect  and  which  is  already  being  effected  through  many  other  channels. 
It  is  not  alone  to  the  question  of  irrigation  in  connection  with  the 
sugar  industry  that  science  has  been  called  upon  to  contribute.     It  has 
been  called  upon  to  contribute  equally  in  almost  every  phase  of  that 
industry— in    methods    of    manufacture    and    cultivation,    fertilization, 
chemistry,  entomology,  plant  pathology  and  physiology.     More  than 
$2,000,000  is  expended  annually  in  the  purchase  of  fertilizers,  besides 
which  large  quantities  not  purchased  are  used.     The  cost  for  this  item 
alone  averages  $4.65  per  ton  of  sugar  or  $22.20  per  acre  per  crop.     The 
planters  maintain  an  experiment  station  with  a  large  corps  of  scientists, 
covering  nearly  every  department  of  the  industry,  at  an  expense  greater 
than  that  of  any  experiment  station,  public  or  private,  on  the  mainland, 
with  possibly  one  or  two  exceptions. 

So  much  as  to  one  industry  by  way  of  illustration  of  the  value  of  the 
application  of  science  to  agriculture  in  all  its  aspects.  Through  the 
Federal  Experiment  Station,  the  Territorial  Board  bf  Agriculture  and 
Forestry,  and  other  mediums  a  good  beginning  has  been  made  in  the 
same  direction  in  other  industries  with  most  promising  results— in  the 
pineapple,  rubber,  sisal,  tobacco,  rice,  and  other  industries.  A  college 
of  agriculture  has  been  established;  instruction  in  agriculture  as  well  as 
in  the  mechanic  arts  is  made  more  and  more  prominent  in  the  public 
schools,  a  beginning  having  been  made  in  this  direction  as  long  ago  as 

(337) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


1 83 1  and  1836,  when  industrial  training  schools,  the  first  in  the  United 
States,  were  established,  which  in  large  measure  suggested  to  Gen.  S.  C. 
Armstrong,  who  was  born  and  brought  up  in  Hawaii,  the  ideas  which  he 
later  embodied  in  Hampton  Institute. 

The  needs  and  opportunities  are  such  that  every  effort  must  and  will 
be  made  in  Hawaii  to  perfect  a  science  of  tropical  agriculture  and  build 
up  a  group  of  tropical  agricultural  industries  to  the  highest  point  of 
efficiency  to  which  they  can  be  brought  by  the  application  of  scientific 
methods.  What  is  needed  now,  outside  of  transportation  and  other 
facilities,  through  the  scientific  branches  of  the  Federal  Government,  is 
assistance  in  forestry  and  in  soil,  topographic  and  hydrographic  surveys 
and  branch  experiment  stations — so  comparatively  new  is  the  field  of 
scientific  tropical  industry  and  so  unique  are  the  conditions  of  wide  vari- 
ation in  rainfall,  temperature,  and  soils  within  shortest  distances  in 
Hawaii. 

The  second  point  to  which  I  wish  to  refer  is  that  of  the  location  of 
Hawaii  at  the  commercial  center  or  cross-roads  of  the  Pacific — which, 
the  greatest  of  oceans,  between  the  richest  of  continents,  is  fast  approach- 
ing the  fulfillment  of  the  long-ago  prophecies  of  von  Humboldt,  Seward, 
and  others,  to  the  effect  that  it  would  eventually  be  the  theater  of  the 
world's  greatest  commerce.  If  the  inland  waterways  of  the  mainland, 
especially  those  of  the  great  Mississippi  valley,  are  to  be  developed  to 
the  extent  which  seems  likely  in  the  near  future,  and  if  the  Panama  canal 
is  to  be  completed,  as  it  must  be,  within  a  few  years,  not  only  is  it  a 
corollary  that  Hawaii  must  be  provided  with  adequate  harbor  facilities 
in  order  to  make  these  other  greater  works  serve  most  completely  their 
purposes,  but  obviously  one  of  the  most  effective  methods  of  conserving 
the  natural  resources  of  the  United  States  is  by  taking  advantage, 
through  these  provisions  for  adequate  transportation  facilities,  of  the 
vast  natural  resources  of  other  countries  and  especially  those  of  China, 
which  are  perhaps,  next  to  those  of  the  United  States,  the  richest  in  the 
world  and  as  yet  practically  untouched.  The  location  of  Hawaii,  which 
thus  far  has  proved  one  of  the  greatest  obstacles  to  her  industrial  pros- 
perity, will  hereafter  be  one  of  her  greatest  assets,  and  with  the  proper 
development  of  her  harbors  through  Federal  aid  she  will,  small  though 
she  is,  have  the  proud  honor  of  playing  a  part  out  of  all  proportion  to 
her  size  in  the  conservation  of  the  natural  resources  of  the  nation. 


(338) 


Statement  by  Commissioner  Macfarland 


INTEREST  OF  THE  NATIONAL  CAPITAL 
Henry  B.  F.  Macfarland 

PRESIDENT   OF  THE   BOARD   OF   COMMISSIONERS   OF  THE   DISTRICT   OF 

COLUMBIA 

The  District  of  Columbia  has  only  seventy  square  miles  of  land  and 
water.  Its  natural  resources  may  be  regarded  as  inconsiderable  com- 
pared with  those  of  the  States.  From  the  commercial  point  of  view  this 
is  true,  although  from  the  esthetic  point  of  view  we  might  claim  rich 
resources  in  the  natural  beauty  of  our  situation.  And  we  have  a  deep 
interest  in  the  conservation  of  all  our  natural  esthetic  resources.  Would 
that  all  the  woodlands,  and  every  other  natural  park  and  parkway, 
might  now  be  preserved  for  the  future  by  immediate  purchase,  as  a  part 
of  the  National  Capital  system  of  parks,  or  included  in  the  national  forest 
reservations,  and  that  all  the  streams  might  be  saved  from  misuse  and 
possible  destruction,  and  especially  that  the  Potomac  river  might  be 
linked  in  with  that  great  program  of  waterway  development  which  has 
been  outlined  by  the  Inland  Waterways  Commission,  whose  fruitful 
labors  suggested  this  Conference ! 

Moreover,  this  is  the  National  Capital,  and  as  such  it  has  a  deep  and 
special  interest  in  this  Conference,  which  could  not  appropriately  have 
been  held  anywhere  else.  The  interests  of  all  the  States  center  here. 
The  citizens  of  all  the  States  are  at  home  here.  Our  hospitality  has  been 
shown  to  this  Conference  according  to  our  ability,  but  it  was  not  neces- 
sary to  offer  a  formal  welcome  to  the  common  Capital.  The  progress  of 
our  country  is  symbolized  in  the  progress  of  its  Capital,  and  the  people 
and  the  government  of  that  Capital  have  a  personal  interest  in  every- 
thing that  will  promote  the  national  prosperity  and  progress.  There- 
fore this  Conference,  unique  in  the  character  of  its  members,  and  in  their 
representative  qualities,  including  the  largest  number  of  Governors  ever 
assembled  in  the  United  States,  the  instructive  and  enlightening  and  even 
inspiring  character  of  the  addresses  and  the  discussions,  all  on  such  a 
high  plane  of  patriotism,  and  the  wisdom  of  its  conclusions,  are  highly 
gratifying  to  the  citizens  of  the  District  of  Columbia.  They  appreciate 
that  this  Conference  begins  a  new  chapter  in  the  life  of  the  Nation,  and 
that  it  is  one  of  the  remarkable  achievements  of  the  administration  of 
the  present  President  of  the  United  States,  distinguished  as  it  is  for 
remarkable  advances  in  the  social  and  economic  policies  of  our  country. 


(339) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


RESOURCES  OF  FLORIDA 
E.  H.  Sellards 

STATE   GEOLOGIST   OF   FLORIDA 

I  beg  to  express  the  regrets  of  Florida's  Chief  Executive,  who  is  unable 
to  attend  the  Conference,  in  the  results  of  which  he  is  profoundly  inter- 
ested, and  to  the  solution  of  some  of  the  perplexing  problems  of  which  he 
has,  in  his  own  State,  devoted  his  best  efforts.  Florida  is  vitally  con- 
cerned in  the  development  of  its  inland  and  coastwise  waterways,  in  per- 
petuating its  forests,  in  the  utilization  of  its  soils  and  mineral  resources, 
and  in  the  drainage  of  its  swamp  lands. 

In  extent  of  coast  line  in  proportion  to  area  Florida  stands  first  among 
the  States  of  the  Union.  The  configuration  of  this  extensive  coast  line 
is  such  that  exceptional  opportunity  is  offered  for  the  development  of 
protected  coastwise  traffic.  The  inland  waterways,  too,  are  capable  of 
great  improvement.  The  comparatively  slight  elevation  which  in 
places  separates  the  Atlantic  from  the  Gulf  drainage  permits  the  con- 
struction of  inland  canals  at  an  expense  which  is  insignificant  as  com- 
pared with  the  benefits  to  be  derived. 

In  the  matter  of  drainage  of  swamp  lands,  the  State  under  the  direc- 
tion of  a  drainage  commission  has  undertaken  the  work  on  a  large  scale, 
namely,  the  drainage  of  the  vast  area  of  the  Everglades.  To  this  work 
the  Governor  of  the  State  has  given  his  special  attention,  and  I  only 
regret  that  he  is  not  himself  present  at  this  time  to  give  you  a  report  of 
progress  in  that  work.  The  total  amount  of  as  yet  unutilized  swamp 
land  in  the  State  is  large.  Very  much  of  this,  aside  from  the  Everglades, 
lies  in  small  areas  in  various  parts  of  the  State.  The  topography  of 
Florida  has  been  determined  largely  by  the  removal  through  under- 
ground water  of  porous  and  soluble  limestone,  resulting  in  depressions 
and  consequent  swamps  or  shallow  lakes.  It  remains  to  be  seen  by 
exact  leveling  and  topographic  mapping  to  what  extent  these  smaller 
swamps  are  capable  of  being  drained. 

Our  forest  problems  differ  in  some  respects  from  those  of  other  States. 
The  great  danger  through  soil  wash  that  has  been  dwelt  upon  in  this 
meeting  is  scarcely  to  be  feared  by  us.  The  greatest  elevation  reached 
probably  does  not  exceed  350  feet.  So  gradual  is  the  rise  passing  inland 
from  the  coast,  and,  above  all,  so  porous  is  the  soil  and  the  underlying 
rock  beds  that  there  is  not  sufficient  surface  run-off  to  result  in  serious 
wash.  Nevertheless,  we  have  our  forestry  problems.  With  us  the 
important  question  is  forest  perpetuation.     Already  large  tracts  have 

(340) 


Statement  by  E.  H.  Sellards 


been  denuded,  and  have  become  alike  unpleasant  to  the  eye  and  un- 
profitable to  the  State.  Appropriate  measures  to  encourage  reforesta- 
tion are  vital  to  the  future  prosperity  of  the  State. 

In  mineral  resources,  Florida  leads  the  world  in  the  production  of  that 
fertilizer  essential,  phosphate.  With  present  practices  it  would  seem 
that  the  entire  world  is  coming  at  no  distant  date  to  the  use  of  fertilizers. 
The  supply  of  the  necessary  ingredient,  phosphate,  it  scarcely  need  be 
said,  has  its  limits,  and,  although  the  Florida  deposits  will  last  for  many 
years,  yet  their  exhaustion  is  but  a  question  of  time.  Practically  all 
the  high  grade  phosphate  now  mined  is  shipped  to  European  markets. 
Within  a  generation  we  shall  come  to  demand  that  this  valuable  material 
remain  at  home. 

How  best  to  perpetuate  our  forests,  utilize  our  soils,  drain  our  swamp 
lands,  improve  our  waterways — these  are  some  of  the  problems  on 
which  we  seek  advice  and  for  the  accomplishment  of  which  we  are  only 
too  glad  to  join  forces  with  our  neighbors  and  with  the  Nation  as  a  whole. 


FLORIDA'S  WATERWAYS 
George  F.  Miles 

I  have  been  requested  by  the  Governor  of  Florida  to  express  to  you 
his  sincere  regret  at  his  inability  to  be  present  at  this  Conference,  which 
he  feels  confident  will  bring  about  full  understanding  between  the 
Federal  administration  and  the  administrations  of  the  different  States 
as  to  the  necessity  of  concerted  action  for  the  preservation  of  the  coun- 
try's supremacy  in  the  World  of  Commerce. 

The  Governor  also  feels  that  such  an  understanding  can  not  fail  to 
result  in  harmonizing  any  differences  of  opinion  which  may  exist  regard- 
ing the  policy  to  be  followed  by  the  General  Government  and  the  Govern- 
ments of  the  different  States  toward  the  conservation  of  the  country's 
natural  resources. 

There  is  no  uncertainty  as  to  the  general  feeling  which  prevails  through- 
out the  United  States  that  the  system  at  present  adopted  by  some  cor- 
porations, and  many  individuals,  of  marketing  everything  that  is  mar- 
ketable, regardless  of  the  future,  should  be  superseded  by  a  more  conserva- 
tive policy;  and  where  it  is  necessary  for  the  public  welfare  that  such 
practices  should  be  controlled  by  Federal  or  State  administration,  the 
question  where  the  authority  to  act  lies  should  not  be  left  indeterminate, 
but  should  be  settled  by  such  gatherings  as  this,  where  the  minds  of  the 
ablest  and  most  influential  men  in  the  land  have  combined  for  the  pur- 

(340 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


pose  of  dispelling  any  misunderstandings  which  may  prove  stumbling 
blocks  in  the  path  of  the  general  and  permanent  prosperity  of  the  country. 

There  seem  to  be  two  vital  questions  to  be  considered  at  this  Con- 
ference: First.  Are  the  natural  resources  of  the  Nation  being  wasted? 
Second.  If  so,  how  can  this  waste  be  stopped?  The  first  question  has 
been  answered  in  the  affirmative  by  the  experts  who  have  addressed  you 
here,  and  there  seems  to  be  a  practically  unanimous  opinion  that  some 
steps  must  promptly  be  taken  to  minimize  this  waste. 

The  problem  therefore  which  confronts  you  is  how  to  do  this  without 
interfering  with  existing  industries;  but  having  established  the  necessity 
for  action,  there  is  little  doubt  about  securing  a  satisfactory  solution  of 
this  problem  when  undertaken  by  the  President  of  the  United  States  and 
the  Governors  of  the  different  States  of  the  Union. 

The  Governor  of  Florida  desires  also  to  have  the  attention  of  this  Con- 
ference called  to  the  efforts  made  by  his  State  to  develop  her  natural 
resources,  particularly  the  attention  given  to  the  improvement  of  the 
inland  waterways  and  the  reclamation  of  the  swamp  lands. 

Under  a  contract  with  the  State,  the  Florida  Coast  Tine  Canal  and 
Transportation  Company  is  now  engaged  in  connecting  the  inland 
tidal  waters  along  the  eastern  coast  of  Florida  by  a  system  of  tide-level 
canals,  and  when  the  last  link  now  under  construction  is  completed  a 
continuous  inland  waterway  nearly  six  hundred  miles  in  length  will  be 
opened  to  navigation.  Also  where  the  canals  referred  to  were  con- 
structed through  the  marshes  bordering  the  coast,  thousands  of  acres 
of  exceedingly  fertile  land  have  been  reclaimed  and  these  reclaimed  lands 
are  now  producing  large  quantities  of  fruit  and  vegetables  for  the  winter 
supply  of  the  northern  and  western  markets. 

Another  large  drainage  project,  too,  is  now  being  carried  on  by  the 
Board  of  Internal  Improvement  of  the  State,  this  work  being  the  com- 
mencement of  the  drainage  of  that  great  overflowed  section  of  South 
Florida  known  as  the  Everglades. 

This  territory  is  singularly  well  situated  for  agricultural  purposes,  as 
it  has  sufficient  fall  in  three  directions  for  effective  drainage,  and  should 
irrigation  prove  necessary  at  any  future  time  the  water  required  for  irri- 
gating any,  or  all,  of  the  three  million  acres  which  comprise  the  Ever- 
glades can  be  supplied  from  Lake  Okechobee,  which  is  located  at  a 
sufficiently  high  level  to  water  all  of  this  territory  by  gravitation. 

This  lake  covers  an  area  of  approximately  i  ,600  square  miles  and  forms 
a  natural  storage  reservoir  which  contains  an  inexhaustible  supply  of 
pure  water  which  will  be  available  at  all  seasons  of  the  year. 

Work  is  now  in  progress  on  the  eastern  section  of  the  Everglades,  and 

the  State  has  two  large  dredges  in  operation  cutting  canals,  one  in  a 

terly  and  the  other  in  a  northwesterly  direction,  while  on  the  drained 

lands  bordering  these  canals  successful  plantations  have  been  established. 

(342) 


Statement  by  George  F.  Miles 


In  order  to  show  the  interest  taken  by  the  people  of  Florida  in  the  use 
of  waterways  for  transportation  purposes,  it  may  be  well  to  state  here 
that  the  construction  of  the  inland  passage  along  the  eastern  coast  was 
aided  by  the  State,  by  the  grant  of  a  land  subsidy  to  the  company  which 
undertook  the  construction  of  the  canals  necessary  to  connect  the  natural 
channels.  The  southern  division  of  this  waterway  was  opened  to  naviga- 
tion during  the  Spanish  War,  and  when  the  Government  had  some 
difficulty  in  securing  safe  transportation  for  mortar  carriages  for  the 
fortifications  at  Key  West,  the  canal  company  contracted  to  deliver  three 
of  these  carriages  at  the  fort,  and  did  so  for  $6^500  less  than  the  lowest 
sum  demanded  by  other  transportation  lines  for  the  performance  of  the 
sendee.  This  example  of  economy  in  the  use  of  protected  water  routes 
seems  to  be  an  added  argument  in  favor  of  the  improvement  in  the 
inland  waterways  of  the  country  so  strongly  advocated  at  this  Confer- 
ence. 

In  conclusion  permit  me  to  thank  you  for  the  opportunity  given  me  to 
express  to  you  the  Governor's  regret  at  being  compelled  to  forego  the 
honor  of  attending  this  Conference,  and  also  for  the  opportunity  of  pre- 
senting a  few  facts  regarding  the  efforts  of  the  State  of  Florida  to  improve 
and  develop  her  natural  resources. 


RESOURCES  OF  IOWA 
I.  M.  Earle 


I  desire  to  express  to  this  Conference  the  regret  of  the  State  of  Iowa 
that  sickness  and  death  in  his  family  deprives  her  of  the  presence  on 
this  floor  of  her  brilliant  and  honored  Governor,  Albert  B.  Cummins. 

Listening  to  the  florid  encomiums  of  the  Governors  upon  the  marvel- 
ous resources  of  their  respective  States,  I  am  tempted  to  enlarge  upon 
the  riches  of  Iowa,  but  will  say  instead,  with  becoming  moderation,  that 
she  was  created  by  the  beneficent  hand  of  the  Almighty  to  perpetuate 
the  traditions  of  Eden. 

No  rugged  mountains  within  her  borders  mock  the  civilizing  hand  of 
man.  No  dismal  swamps  call  for  drainage — no  arid  wastes  for  irrigation. 
From  river  to  river,  her  boundless  prairies  swell  rich  and  full  as  mothers' 
breasts  for  the  nurture  of  her  favored  children.  Here  is  the  special 
domain  of  King  Corn  of  which  her  adjacent  sister  States  are  respectable 
outlying  provinces.  Her  problem  is  to  conserve  for  future  generations 
this  empire  in  its  virgin  fertility — to  provide  against  soil  erosion  and  soil 
exhaustion,  and  to  gain  through  improved  waterways  better  and  cheaper 

(343) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

access  to  the  markets  of  the  world.  Local  forestry  along  her  streams  and 
steeper  inclines  will  do  much  to  prevent  further  erosion  and  yield  in  time 
rich  returns  upon  the  cost.  To  illustrate:  Three-fourths  of  an  acre  of 
cottonwood,  near  Charter  Oak,  thirty  years  from  planting,  yielded  this 
vear  S674  net  above  all  expenses  of  cutting  and  marketing.  More  grass 
land  and  more  live  stock  will  largely  avoid  the  waste  incident  to  the  direct 
marketing  of  soil  products,  and  the  adoption  of  more  scientific  methods 
of  farming  will  tremendously  increase  production.  Professor  Holden's 
talks  on  seed-corn,  delivered  to  groups  of  farmers  from  the  platform  of 
his  railway  car,  resulted  in  increasing  the  corn  crop  of  the  State  the  follow- 
ing vear  bv  approximately  twelve  million  bushels.  Our  agricultural 
college  at  Ames  is  giving  instruction  along  the  latest  scientific  lines,  and 
side  by  side  with  the  young  men  in  her  purely  agricultural  classes  are 
men  of  70  now  studying  for  the  first  time  the  rudiments  of  the  profession 
in  which  they  have  spent  all  their  lives. 

The  rivers  of  Iowa  by  proper  and  scientific  development  through  canali- 
zation or  otherwise,  with  the  great  rivers  on  her  borders,  will  give  her, 
in  connection  with  her  splendid  railways,  all  needed  facilities  for  trans- 
portation. Her  interest  in  irrigation,  swamp  land  reclamation  and  forest 
preservation  is  that  of  a  patriotic  People,  deeply  affected  by  all  that  con- 
cerns the  national  welfare  and  a  People  in  profound  sympathy  with  the 
purpose  and  aim  of  this  meeting. 

Sufficient  attention  has  not  been  given  in  this  Conference  to  the  preser- 
vation of  the  great  natural  wonders  of  this  country  as  one  of  its  great 
natural  resources.  They  are  the  nurseries  of  patriotism,  which  in  time  of 
danger  is  the  greatest  resource  of  all.  Passionate  love  of  country  does 
not  depend  on  its  material  riches — patriotism  can  not  be  reckoned  in 
percentage.  It  is  well  to  build  battle-ships,  but  to  render  them  invincible 
there  must  be  patriotic  hearts  behind  the  guns.  Back  of  the  steel  turret 
must  be  the  indomitable  spirit  that  rang  in  the  fierce  answer  of  Jones  from 
the  reeling  decks  of  the  Bon  Homme  Richard:  "Surrender?  We  have 
not  yet  begun  to  fight."  Let  us  preserve  all  these  wonder  places  of  the 
land  that  grip  the  heart  with  worship  and  love  and  loyalty.  Let  not  the 
father  of  the  future  point  out  to  his  son  the  blackened  stumps  where  once 
stood  the  giant  sequoias  of  California,  and  be  able  only  to  tell  him  how 
much  lumber  and  shingles  and  lath  they  furnished  and  how  many  dollars 
it  all  amounted  to.  But  let  him  point  to  their  mighty  trunks  still  tower- 
ing high  toward  Heaven  and  say,  "My  son,  these  trees  were  old  when  the 
Star  of  the  nativity  hung  over  Bethlehem,  old  when  Belshazzar  saw  the 
handwriting  on  the  wall,  old  when  the  returning  waves  of  the  Red  Sea 
dashed  above  the  doomed  chariots  of  Pharaoh.  They  are  a  part  of  the 
common  heritage  of  our  glorious  country.  Live  for  her,  fight  for  her, 
die  for  her.''     Let  him  not  stand  with  him  where  once  rolled  the  torrent 

(344) 


Statement  by  I.  M.  Earle 


of  Niagara  and  be  able  only  to  point  to  the  barren  rock,  covered  with 
business  placards,  or  the  portraits  of  eminent  statesmen  saved  to  a  grate- 
ful constituency  by  some  widely  heralded  nostrum  of  that  day;  but  let 
him  point  with  pride  and  awe  to  those  undiminished  waters  rolling  into 
the  abyss  as  at  the  beginning,  and  standing  there  by  the  thunders,  the 
mists,  and  the  rainbows  of  that  wonder  place  of  the  Almighty,  dedicate 
him  anew  to  the  service  of  his  country! 


RESOURCES  OE  MARYLAND 
Bernard  N.  Baker 

It  is  my  great  pleasure  to  present  greetings  from  Maryland.  In  the 
absence  of  Governor  Crothers,  owing  to  illness,  he  has  commissioned  me 
to  represent  our  State.  It  is  with  great  regret  that  I  convey  the  fact  of 
the  Governor's  inability  to  be  present  personally,  as  his  interest  in  the 
movement  is  great,  and  he  could  better  represent  our  State. 

The  very  interesting  and  instructive  papers  read  have  produced  infor- 
mation and  suggestions  that  will  be  of  untold  benefit  to  our  country  for 
all  time.  The  action  already  taken  and  that  promised  by  the  Governors 
of  the  various  States  is  going  to  do  much  to  preserve  our  forests,  and  this 
will  greatly  help  to  solve  the  question  that  in  my  opinion  is  one  of  vital 
interest  to  all  our  people,  namely,  the  navigation  of  our  inland  water- 
ways. 

The  sources  of  supply  of  our  great  rivers  being  permanent,  makes  it 
a  duty  second  to  none  to  have  these  rivers  navigable.  To  accomplish 
this,  our  Government  must  do  its  part.  No  nation  is  doing  as  great  a 
work  as  ours  in  building  the  Panama  canal.  Let  us  go  further,  and  build 
a  waterway  navigable  for  ships  drawing,  say,  twenty  feet  of  water,  from 
the  source  of  the  Mississippi  to  its  delta,  and  of  the  Ohio  from  Pittsburg 
to  the  Mississippi. 

It  was  on  an  inland  waterway  of  Maryland,  the  Chesapeake  bay,  that 
the  first  settlers  of  this  great  country  founded  the  colony  at  Jamestown. 

For  twenty-one  years  I  had  the  honor  of  being  at  the  head  of  the  only 
steamship  line  owned  by  citizens  of  the  United  States  that  successfully 
competed  in  the  foreign  trade  with  England.  Will  it  be  considered 
improbable  when  I  state  that  I  believe  there  are  before  me  today  some 
who  will  live  to  see  steamships  leaving  Chicago,  Kansas  City,  St.  Louis, 
and  even  Pittsburg,  via  the  Panama  canal,  for  Hong  Kong  and  inter- 
mediate ports,  and  from  Chicago  and  the  Lake  ports,  via  the  Mississippi 
River,  to  Liverpool  and  London. 

(345) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

This  would  open  up  to  our  great  central  West  lines  of  communication 
so  cheap  that  we  could  deliver  to  other  countries  our  manufactured  goods 
in  competition  with  the  world. 

I  am  informed  that  sufficient  land  would  be  reclaimed  along  the  Missis- 
sippi to  more  than  pay  the  cost  of  making  the  river  navigable.  One 
mile  of  railroad  transportation  costs  as  much  as  three  miles  of  water 
transportation.  Think  what  this  means.  Make  your  own  figures,  and 
vou  will  find  our  central  West  can  successfully  compete  in  manufacture 
for  the  trade  of  the  world. 

I  could  and  will  gladly  say  more  on  the  question  to  anyone  interested 
in  the  purposes  of  this  great  Conference. 


THE  GRAZING  LANDS  AND  NATIONAL  FORESTS  OF  ARIZONA 

D wight  B.  Heard 

PRESIDENT     OF     THE     ARIZONA     CATTLE     GROWERS-     ASSOCIATION 

The  People  of  Arizona  are  naturally  greatly  interested  in  a  movement 
which  proposes  the  protection  and  perpetuation  of  one  of  their  great 
natural  resources,  the  public  grazing  lands,  which,  under  the  present 
lack  of  control,  are  rapidly  being  depleted  and  losing  their  usefulness. 
Today  there  are  pastured  upon  these  public  grazing  lands  of  Arizona, 
according  to  the  latest  Census  report,  which  it  is  believed  by  the  best 
authority  has  not  materially  changed  to  date,  over  630,000  head  of 
cattle,  655,000  head  of  sheep,  and  121,000  head  of  horses. 

Within  Arizona  we  have  12,759,190  acres  of  national  forests,  an  area 
greater  than  the  combined  area  of  the  States  of  New  Hampshire,  Massa- 
chusetts, and  Rhode  Island.  Within  these  Arizona  national  forests  are 
pastured  108,000  head  of  cattle,  279,000  head  of  sheep,  and  8,600  head 
of  horses.  On  the  grazing  lands  within  the  forests  in  Arizona  grazing  is 
regulated  and  annual  feeding  permits  are  issued  at  35  cents  per  head  for 
cattle,  12  cents  per  head  for  sheep,  and  40  cents  per  head  for  horses. 
On  the  public  grazing  lands  without  the  forests,  grazing  is  free,  yet  so 
definite  are  the  advantages  of  protected  grazing  within  the  forests  that 
cattlemen  of  Arizona,  both  large  and  small,  are  practically  a  unit  in 
support  of  placing  the  public  grazing  lands  under  Federal  control  similar 
to  that  exercised  in  the  national  forests. 

When  the  control  of  the  grazing  lands  in  the  national  forests  was  first 
commenced  in  Arizona,  it  met  with  violent  opposition  from  many  sources, 
many  stockmen  claiming  that  the  prices  charged  for  grazing   permits 

(346) 


Statement  by  Dwight  B.  Heard 


would  drive  them  out  of  their  business;  and  it  is  particularly  significant 
that  many  of  the  men  who  were  the  most  violent  opponents  of  this  policy 
in  its  inception  are  today  among  its  strongest  supporters. 

One  of  the  distinctly  material  advantages  to  the  people  of  Arizona 
in  the  administration  of  the  Arizona  national  forests  is  the  fact  that  so 
large  a  proportion  of  the  receipts  from  the  national  forests  of  the  Terri- 
tory are  expended  for  improvements  or  disbursements  within  the 
Territory. 

In  the  year  ending  June  30,  1907,  the  receipts  from  the  national  forests 
within  Arizona  from  all  sources  aggregated  $173,079.27. 

Of  this  amount  10%  was  paid  to  the  counties  in  which  the  forests  are 
situated,  as  provided  by  law,  and  in  addition  there  was  expended  within 
the  territory  for  improvements,  such  as  roads,  water  development,  re- 
forestation, fencing  and  general  operating  account,  the  sum  of  $81 ,826.00, 
which  sum  plus  the  amount  paid  the  counties  makes  a  total  disburse- 
ment within  the  Territory  of  $99,134.42,  or  nearly  60%  of  the  receipts. 

In  the  initiation  of  such  an  important  policy,  it  was  natural  that  some 
mistakes  at  first  occurred.  These  mistakes  have  been  steadily  rectified, 
and  when  the  law  of  June  11,  1906,  was  passed,  authorizing  homesteads 
within  the  national  forests,  one  of  the  most  serious  defects  in  the  forest 
policy  was  corrected.  Since  that  date  over  582  applications  for  home- 
steads within  the  national  forests  in  Arizona  have  been  received,  the 
larger  proportion  of  which  have  already  been  acted  upon  favorably,  and 
homes,  that  greatest  asset  of  any  community,  are  steadily  springing  up 
along  the  streams  within  these  forest  areas. 

An  appreciation  of  the  clear-headed  and  efficient  handling  of  grazing 
within  the  national  forests  was  shown  by  the  Arizona  Cattle  Growers' 
Association  at  their  annual  convention  held  at  Phoenix  last  November, 
when  they  placed  themselves  squarely  on  record  by  passing  unanimously 
the  following  resolutions: 

We,  the  members  of  the  Arizona  Cattle  Growers'  Association,  favor  a  supervision 
and  regulation  of  the  public  grazing  lands  within  this  Territory,  by  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment through  some  system  which  would  operate  in  an  equitable,  just  and  proper 
manner  to  all  of  the  occupants  of  the  range,  and  which  would  not  interfere  with  nor 
hinder  homestead  entry  at  set  periods. 

We  suggest  that  a  fair  and  just  regulation  of  these  public  lands  can  be  accom- 
plished by  leasing  upon  a  per  capita  carrying  basis,  and  in  the  event  this  method  is 
determined  upon,  we  favor  the  issuance  of  leases  for  periods  of  not  less  than  ten 
years.  We  believe  that  under  any  system  of  Government  control  the  range  rights 
of  the  present  occupants  of  the  grazing  area  as  determined  by  priority  of  occupancy 
and  use  should  be  carefully  safeguarded,  and  we  urge  that  in  the  enactment  of  such  a 
law  for  control  of  the  grazing  lands,  it  be  provided  that  no  provision  of  such  laws 
shall  affect  or  in  any  way  interfere  with  the  sanitary  live  stock  laws  of  this  Territory. 

Such  a  supervision  and  regulation  can  only  be  accomplished  by  the  enactment  of 
the  proper  Federal  laws,  and  we  earnestly  request  Congress  to  enact  such  laws. 

(347) 
56254—09 25 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


We  express  our  hearty  approval  of  the  practical  work  of  the  Forestry  Service 
within  this  Territory,  under  the  direction  of  the  energetic  and  capable  Chief  Forester, 
Mr  Gifford  Pinchot.  And  we  believe  that  the  method  of  handling  the  question  of 
grazing  in  the  forest  reserves  in  Arizona  has  secured  the  practically  unanimous  sup- 
port of  the  cattlemen  of  the  Territory. 

In  a  recent  letter  received  from  Mr  Chris  Ellerbe,  one  of  the  most 
clear-headed  cattlemen  in  the  Territory,  he  states  as  follows : 

*  *  *  the  Federal  control' of  the  public  grazing  lands  is  a  question  of  greater 
importance  to  our  country  than  is  the  child  labor  question,  or  the  negro  question,  or 
any  other  problem  before  our  country  except  banking  regulation  and  the  Mississippi 
river.  This  question  can  never  be  solved  with  a  Colt  and  a  Winchester,  but  the 
people  who  live  on  the  range  will  keep  on  trying  to  reach  a  solution  with  the  aid  of 
those  two  "American  civilizers."  Sheep,  by  nature  and  by  necessity,  are  migratory; 
cattle,  by  nature  and  by  necessity,  become  domiciled.  Sheep,  by  nature  and  by 
man,  go  in  herds;  cattle  abhor  close  herd,  nor  does  their  protection  demand  it.  *  *  * 
The  maintenance  of  just  and  fair  relations  between  these  two  antagonistic  interests 
can  only  be  accomplished  by  Federal  control. 

For  years  the  stockmen  of  the  West  have  had  under  consideration 
some  form  of  a  leasing  law  embodying  protection  and  control  of  the 
public  grazing  lands,  but  until  recently  they  have  been  unable  to  agree 
on  any  defmite  measure.  This  is  a  big  question,  and  of  necessity  many 
honest  differences  of  opinion  must  occur  as  to  the  merit  and  practi- 
cality of  this  policy.  In  the  past  many  large  cattle  interests,  some 
openly,  others  not  as  openly,  have  opposed  any  public  control,  favoring  a 
let-alone  or  stand-pat  policy-  But  realizing  that  something  must  be  done 
and  done  quickly  to  perpetuate  the  stock  industry  on  the  public  grazing 
lands  of  the  West,  the  annual  convention  of  The  National  Livestock 
Association  held  at  Denver,  January,  1908,  recommended  a  definite 
measure  for  the  Federal  control  and  protection  of  the  public  grazing 
lands  by  a  vote  of  396^  to  32^,  which,  in  my  judgment,  is  fairly  indica- 
tive of  the  public  opinion  of  the  Western  stockmen  on  this  important 
question.  At  Denver,  Colorado,  a  cattleman  in  rather  homely  but  con- 
vincing and  picturesque  language,  stated:  "Give  us  Federal  control  of 
the  public  grazing  lands  and  more  hay  and  less  hell  will  be  raised!" 

A  bill  almost  identical  with  that  recommended  at  the  National  Live 
Stock  Association  at  its  January  meeting,  in  Denver,  has  now  been 
introduced  into  Congress  by  Senator  Curtis  of  Kansas,  and  the  Arizona 
Cattle  Growers'  Association  urges  passage  by  Congress  of  this  measure 
for  the  following  definite  reasons: 

(1)  The  marked  success  of  a  similar  policy  controlling  grazing  on  the 
national  forests  within  Arizona. 

(2)  The  establishment  of  the  stock  raising  business  upon  a  definite 
and  permanent  basis  instead  of  the  present  uncertain  one,  this  perma- 
nency being  assured  by  the  prevention  of  overgrazing  and  the  perpetua- 
tion of  the  natural  grasses. 

(348) 


Statement  by  Dwight  B.  Heard 


(3)  The  encouragement  under  the  act  to  improve  the  breeding  of 
stock. 

(4)  The  possibility  under  permanently  established  conditions  to 
develop  and  improve  the  water  supply  on  the  range,  thus  greatly  im- 
proving its  carrying  capacity. 

(5)  The  ability  to  build,  under  the  law,  such  necessary  fences  as  may 
be  desirable  and  to  create  community  pastures,  a  great  advantage  to 
the  small  stockmen. 

(6)  The  assurance  that  under  Federal  control  the  feuds  between  cat- 
tlemen, and  especially  between  cattlemen  and  sheepmen,  which  have 
furnished  so  many  Western  tragedies,  will  be  ended. 

(7)  The  absolute  elimination  under  Federal  control  of  the  cattle 
rustler. 

(8)  The  protection  in  all  their  reasonable  rights  of  the  present  occu- 
pants of  public  lands. 

(9)  The  large  measure  of  local  control  involved. 

(10)  The  fact  that  all  net  receipts  from  each  grazing  district  during 
each  year  are  turned  over  to  the  State  or  Territory  in  which  the  grazing 
district  is  situated,  for  the  benefit  of  the  public  schools  and  public  roads 
of  the  county  or  counties  in  which  the  grazing  district  is  located. 

(n)  And  last,  but  most  important,  the  assurance  that  the  rights  of 
the  homesteader  will  be  absolutely  safeguarded,  and  home-making,  that 
greatest  of  our  national  resources,  encouraged. 


OUR  WATER  RESOURCES 
Lyman  E.  Cooley,  C.  E. 

Our  surplus  waters  are  next  in  value  to  the  land;  they  are  self-replen- 
ishing, renewing  themselves  in  the  seasons  and  throughout  the  years; 
they  are  a  part  of  the  public  domain  which  has  never  been  segregated, 
and  should  be  forever  held  for  the  use  of  the  People  in  common. 

From  the  point  where  they  come  to  earth,  in  their  descent  to  the  sea, 
they  develop  energies  many  times  greater  than  can  be  produced  by  high- 
grade  engines  from  all  the  coal  mined.  Through  water  conservation  it 
should  be  practicable  to  realize  actual  horsepower  in  excess  of  what  can 
be  produced  by  all  the  coal  mined  in  the  United  States  today. 

Water  conservation  demands  storage,  and  4  to  6%  of  the  area  in  res- 
ervoirs will  equalize  the  flow  of  streams.  By  fish  culture,  such  reser- 
voirs will  have  greater  value  than  the  land  taken.  They  add  to  the  land- 
scape, and  make  places  of  recreation  for  the  People. 

(349) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

Floods  will  be  abolished  or  mitigated,  thus  reclaiming  the  wealth  in 
alluvial  lands  along  the  water  courses  and  making  the  valleys  salubrious. 
The  flow  of  streams  will  be  equalized  and  made  navigable  throughout 
the  year,  even  to  the  remote  reservoir  sites,  and  by  improvement  of 
these  natural  channels  and  by  connecting  the  water  systems  at  vantage 
points,  a  great  transportation  agency  will  be  evolved  as  a  complement 
to  our  railway  system,  and  as  a  necessity  for  our  larger  growth  and 
complete  development. 

Forestry  becomes  the  incident  of  water  conservation  and  makes 
wealth  out  of  the  waste  lands  which  have  no  better  use 

Thus  through  water  conservation  we  may  develop  power  in  every 
region  where  people  can  live,  and  prolong  the  life  of  our  coal  mines 
throughout  the  generations;  protect  from  floods,  reclaim  the  wealth  in 
alluvial  lands  by  the  water  side,  and  make  the  valleys  healthful ;  produce 
a  great  transportation  system,  such  as  is  necessary  to  realize  our  destiny, 
and  create  wealth  in  fisheries  and  in  forests  from  land  which  has  no 
better  use.  The  remedy  is  far-reaching  and  automatic,  and  thus  lends 
itself  best  to  the  nature  of  our  institutions. 

MISSISSIPPI    VALLEY 

The  Mississippi  valley,  as  a  geographic  and  economic  entity,  spreads 
broadly  out  between  the  Rocky  mountains  on  the  west  and  the  Alleghany 
mountains,  the  Niagara  frontier  and  Hudson  bay  on  the  east,  and  extends 
from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  northern  ripening  limit  of  barley  and  the 
potato.  It  has  a  general  breadth  of  1,300  miles  and  a  general  length  of 
2,100  miles,  and  an  area  of  2,765,000  square  miles,  or  more  than  that  of 
all  Europe. 

In  recent  geologic  time  a  greater  Lake  Winnipeg  spilled  its  waters 
across  the  northern  divide  to  the  Mississippi  at  less  than  1,000  feet  of 
altitude,  and  the  Great  Lakes  also  spilled  their  waters  across  the  Chicago 
Divide  at  less  than  600  feet  of  altitude ;  and  these  ancient  outlets  define 
the  lowest  continental  lines  and  the  base  routes  for  a  waterway  system. 
These  three  basins,  in  their  present  drainage,  comprehend  72%  of  the 
area  of  the  Mississippi  valley,  the  remainder  being  distributed  in  three 
remnants  of  direct  drainage  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  Hudson  bay  and 
Mackenzie  river. 

The  economic  or  potential  value  may  be  estimated  in  terms  of  the 
average  humid  territory  of  middle  latitudes.  Making  due  allowance  for 
the  semi-arid  region,  the  sterile  rock  of  the  northern  highlands,  and  the 
margining  out  in  value  toward  the  barley  and  potato  limit,  the  equivalent 
value  is  taken  at  2,000,000  square  miles  in  round  numbers.  This  is  five 
times  or  more  the  combined  areas  of  France  and  Germany,  and  will  carry 
a  population  five  times  as  great,  or  450,000,000,  and  perhaps  double  on 
an  ultimate  development. 

(350) 


Statement  by  Lyman  E.  Cooley 


The  Atlantic,  or  Eastern  Division,  comprehends  an  area  of  885,000 
square  miles,  with  a  value  of  600,000  square  miles.  The  Pacific  Division, 
west  of  the  Rockies  and  north  of  Mexico,  comprehends  an  area  of  1 ,480,000 
square  miles,  with  a  value  of  540,000  square  miles.  The  total  area  of  the 
three  divisions  is  5,130,000  square  miles,  with  a  value  of  3,140,000  square 
miles.  Of  this  total  the  Mississippi  valley  represents  54%  in  area  and 
63%  in  value. 

If  a  sea  margin  be  set  off  comparable  to  that  for  the  Atlantic  and 
Pacific,  the  Continental  interior  is  the  larger  half  of  the  total  value,  more 
than  four  times  Germany  and  France  together,  with  its  margins  farther 
from  the  seaboard  than  the  most  remote  sections  of  either  of  the  countries 
named. 

CONTINENTAL   INTERIOR 

The  four  countries  of  Northwestern  Europe  contain  1,8,920  miles  of 
improved  waterways  in  an  area  of  449,000  square  miles,  ranging  from 
1  mile  of  waterway  for  26  to  29  miles  of  territory  in  France  and  Ger- 
many, to  6  miles  of  territory  in  Holland  and  Belgium.  The  waterway 
development  in  France  and  Germany  proceeds  on  the  basis  of  about  1  mile 
of  waterway  for  each  25  miles  of  territory,  while  the  railway  develop- 
ment, largely  under  State  control,  represents  1  mile  of  railway  to  8  miles 
of  territory.  Already  certain  sections  of  the  United  States  have  a  mile 
of  railway  for  each  4  to  6  miles  of  territory,  with  a  population  density  of 
one-fourth  to  one-third. 

Take  any  unit  area  in  the  Continental  Interior  as  the  combined  area  of 
Illinois,  Wisconsin,  Minnesota  and  Iowa,  an  area  greater  in  natural 
resources  with  better  topographic  conditions  than  either  France  or  Ger- 
many. Such  an  area  in  its  domestic  traffic,  in  its  relation  to  other  unit 
areas,  and  in  its  connection  with  the  seaboard,  will  require  some  three 
times  the  railway  mileage  that  would  be  required  were  it  margined  by 
the  sea,  like  France  or  Germany. 

More  than  one-third  of  the  commodities  moved  by  rail  cost  less  than 
one  dollar  per  ton  at  the  point  of  production,  more  than  half  are  under 
two  dollars  per  ton,  while  about  two-thirds  are  worth  less  than  five 
dollars.  To  develop  the  dormant  and  ultimate  resources  of  the  Interior 
is  utterly  hopeless  under  such  conditions,  nor  can  such  area  maintain 
world  competition  with  more  favored  nations. 

THE    WATERWAY   SYSTEM 

The  Interior  can  not  go  to  the  Sea,  but  for  all  practical  purposes  the 
Sea  can  be  carried  into  the  Interior.  The  Continental  base  lines  can  be 
developed  for  ships  if  we  like,  south  to  the  Gulf,  east  to  the  Atlantic,  and 
north  to  Hudson  bay,  and  each  unit  area,  like  France  and  Germany,  will 
lie  along  a  virtual  sea-front. 

(351) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


Great  tributaries  and  the  many  laterals  can  be  improved  and  connected 
at  vantage  points  in  loops  and  circuits,  and  the  wealth  in  either  valley 
slope  may  thus  interchange  and  gravitate  to  the  common  artery. 

The  Mississippi  valley  has  some  25,000  miles  of  waters  which  have  been 
actually  navigated.  On  the  basis  of  France  and  Germany,  this  should 
increase  to  80,000  miles  for  the  potential  area.  With  such  a  waterway 
system  250,000  miles  of  railway  should  be  sufficient  to  meet  the  needs  of 
a  population  of  four  to  five  hundred  millions  in  the  Mississippi  valley. 
The  o-reater  efficiency  of  American  railways  and  the  larger  scale  of  a 
waterway  system  will  discount  any  superior  activities  of  our  people. 

Considered  as  a  matter  of  cost,  the  combined  system  will  be  far  less, 
and  considered  in  relation  to  results,  the  wealth  to  pay  for  the  same  will 


be  far  greater. 


CONCLUSION 


The  typical  American  of  the  generations  to  come  will  express  the 
environment,  the  boundless  opportunity,  and  dominion  over  Nature,  in 
the  Mississippi  valley.  This  Interior  is  the  assembly  ground  of  all  the 
divers  types  of  the  Aryan  race  that  swarmed  from  the  parent  stock  in 
Central  Asia  thousands  of  years  ago.  Coming  through  many  lands  with 
widely  varying  climatic  and  soil  conditions,  strange  experiences,  and 
multiplied  heredities,  they  are  to  here  coalesce  in  the  final  race  type. 

Here  the  genius  of  the  race  may  flower  and  mature  its  fullest  fruits, 
secure  behind  broad  margins  of  ocean  boundary  from  the  alien  race  wars 
which  rolled  our  ancestors  up  like  a  scroll.  Here  may  develop  a  civili- 
zation such  as  the  world  has  not  seen,  and  issue  forth  through  its  ocean 
portals  to  dominate  the  world. 


THE  LAKES-TO-GULF  WATERWAY 
Isham  Randolph,  C.  E. 

The  venerable  and  honored  Chaplain  of  the  Senate,  when  he  invoked 
the  Divine  blessing  on  this  wonderful  human  assemblage,  borrowed 
from  the  treasury  of  Holy  Writ  that  wonderful  description  of  the  Prom- 
ised Land,  found  in  the  VIII  Chapter  of  Deuteronomy,  and  applied  its 
glowing  language  with  unerring  fitness  to  our  own  land.  Our  fathers' 
God  and  ours  gave  them  a  goodly  heritage,  and  we  their  heirs  possess  it. 

Three-  million  six  hundred  and  two  thousand  nine  hundred  and  ninety 
square  miles,  omitting  our  Insular  possessions,  is  ours  to  transmit  to  our 
posterity,  not  robbed  of  its  wealth,  but  richer  for  our  trusteeship,  pre- 
served by  our  foresight,  and  bettered  by  our  fostering  care. 

Although  we  have  multiplied  and  replenished  the  earth,  we  and  our 
living  children  are  but  few  in  the  land  compared  with  its  possibilities. 

(352) 


Statement  by  Isham  Randolph 


Great  Britain  has  in  her  home  island  domain  only  121,230  square  miles 
with  an  average  population  in  1900  of  312^  per  square  mile.     In  that 
same  year  we  had  about  22  inhabitants  per  square  mile.     Our  most  popu- 
lous State,  New  York,  with  its  Empire  City,  had  in  that  year  only  147^ 
people  per  square  mile,  and  Pennsylvania,  next  in  greatness,  had  only 
139^  per  square  mile.     Our  rich  and  powerful  Illinois  had  only  85. 1  people 
per  square  mile.     When  we  multiply  as  the  English,  Scotch,  and  Irish 
have  done  in  their  little  Islands,  we  shall  be  over  eleven  hundred  million 
people.     Are  we  less  prolific  than  they?     What  is  the  answer?     What- 
ever the  answer,  we  know  that  the  generations  following  after  ours  will 
be  as  the  sand  upon  the  seashore  for  multitude,  and  that  if  we  begin  now 
to  save  for  them  the  wealth  of  earthly  good  we  are  wasting  and  to  build 
wisely  for  our  heirs,  we  will  be  none  too  soon,  even  if  we  start  today. 
They  will  be  a  trading  people,  and  traders  must  have  transportation. 
Private  capital  has  possessed  the  railroad  industry,  but  the  streams  and 
rivers  belong  to  all  of  the  People;  let  us  improve  them  for  all  of  the  People. 
I  am  a  son  of  old  Virginia,  and  proud  that  I  should  have  sprung  from 
that  historic  soil,  but  I  have  been  adopted  by  her  most  glorious  daughter, 
Illinois,  and  right  loyal  am  I  to  that  adoption. 

To  her  I  have  given  the  best  years  and  the  best  efforts  of  my  life,  in 
doing  the  things  which  she  has  bidden  me  do. 

She  said,  "Build  me  a  waterway,"  and  with  the  loyal,  skillful  help  of 
brawny,  brainy  men  I  have  done  that  which  Albert  Gallatin,  the  great 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  recommended  in  1808.  Ever  since  then  the 
statesmen  and  the  engineers  of  this  Government  have  nibbled  at  the 
project  of  a  waterway  across  the  Chicago  Divide,  but  until  Chicago  said, 
"  I  will,"  nothing  was  done.  Our  Imperial  City  of  the  mid-continent  has 
riven  a  channel  through  the  great  rock  reef  which  separated  the  Lakes 
from  the  Gulf,  and  today  she  offers  to  our  common  country  37  miles  of 
deep  waterway  which  will  float  any  ship  that  plows  the  waters  of  the 
Great  Lakes. 

This  greatest  waterway  that  man  has  yet  built  has  cost  $56,615,014.44, 
and  it  has  been  proffered  by  the  people  who  paid  for  it  to  this  Govern- 
ment for  eight  long  years,  as  a  free  gift,  and  that  proffer  has  never  been 
withdrawn.  The  National  Government  makes  no  move  in  this  great 
project,  but  the  State  of  Illinois  is  astir  and  for  herself  and  all  her  sister 
States  she  proposes  to  save  this  situation.  Her  Constitution  forbids  her 
giving  money  in  aid  of  railroad  or  canal  building,  but  so  great  is  the 
need  for  carrying  on  the  work  of  building  this  waterway  that  her  Legis- 
lature has  passed  a  bill  submitting  a  constitutional  amendment  to  the 
People  which  will  permit  the  State  to  make  a  bond  issue  of  $20,000,000 
to  carry  on  the  work. 

This  amendment  will  be  voted  on  this  coming  fall,  and  it  will  carry. 
Our  Governor  is  a  waterway  man;   he  seeks  renomination ;   he  is  for  the 

(353) 


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Statement  by  Isham  Randolph 


He  presents  further  an  estimated  additional  quantity  of 


Coal  areas 

miles 

thickness 
infect 

Tons 

12 

4 

3 

2 . 

1 

Total 

27.287 

'-;• 

The  sum  total  of  Illinois  coals  is  therefore  2  The 

chart  of  American  coal  fields  just  issued  by  the  United  States  Geological 
Survey  assigns  35,600  square  miles  to  the  Illinois  coal  fields,  and  esti- 
mates the  tonnage  as  240,000,000,000.  The  area  reported  by  Mr  Bement 
exceeds  that  reported  by  the  Geological  Survey  by  29,173  square  miles, 
but  he  reports  nearly  39,000,000,000  less  tons  of  coal.  I  will  leave  the 
coal  fields,  and  return  to  the  waterways,  about  which  I  have  a  knowledge 
of  my  own. 

Illinois  is  now  fighting  a  desperate  battle  to  wrest  from  "predatory 
wealth"  the  rights  which  belong  to  her  children  and  their  children's 
children;  and  she  must  win. 

I  brought  the  facts  in  this  case  to  the  knowledge  of  my  Governor,  and 
he  appealed  to  our  great  Secretary  of  War  to  intervene  and  protect  these 
navigable  waters  of  the  United  States.  The  Secretary  of  War  arranged 
for  a  hearing  of  the  parties  in  interest.  Governor  Deneen  directed  me 
to  attend  this  hearing  on  behalf  of  the  State  of  Illinois.  This  was  had  in 
the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  War  on  February  23,  1907. 

The  people  who  had  laid  hold  of  this  waterway  were  represented  by  a 
Congressman  of  the  United  States,  an  attorney,  who  talked  so  well  that 
he  satisfied  the  Secretary  of  War  that  it  was  not  a  matter  on  which  he 
could  interfere,  as,  in  the  view  which  he  accepted,  it  was  wholly  a  ques- 
tion for  the  State  of  Illinois.  I  had  not  then  seen  the  ordinance  of  July 
13,  1787,  entitled  "An  Ordinance  for  the  Government  of  the  Territory-  of 
the  United  States  northwest  of  the  Ohio  River.*'  Article  IV  of  this 
Ordinance  reads,  "The  navigable  waters  leading  into  the  Mississippi  and 
the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  carrying  places  between  the  same  shall  be 
common  highways  and  forever  free  as  well  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  said 
territory  as  to  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  those  of  any  other 
States  that  may  be  admitted  to  the  Confederacy,  without  anv  tax  impost 
or  duty  therefor.'' 

This  article  was  incorporated  in  the  first  Constitution  of  Illinois  when 
she  was  admitted  to  the  Union  in  181 8. 

We  shall  win  in  this  case  and  again  will  be  verified  the  saving,  "Peace 
hath  her  victories  more  renowned  than  war,''  for  it  will  be  a  victory  for 
all  the  people  for  all  the  time  to  come.     Our  cry  is,  "Stop  all  waste  of 

(355) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


natural  resources."  No  one  of  Nature's  gifts  is  more  recklessly  wasted 
than  is  the  gift  of  water.  Of  this  there  is  enough  for  all  the  year  around 
in  all  the  years,  if  we  would  save  the  excess  of  supply  and  store  it  for 
the  season  of  drought.  We  are  beginning  to  do  this,  and  we  will  follow 
up  these  beginnings  by  systematic,  intelligent  work.  The  spring  rains 
and  the  melting  snows  must  not  be  allowed  to  "flow  unvexed  to  the 
sea."  They  must  not  go  down  our  valleys  in  wanton  flood  carrying 
destruction,  devastation  to  crops  and  the  works  of  men's  hands,  but  they 
must  be  garnered  for  use  when  the  land  is  athirst,  as  Joseph  gathered 
the  fruits  of  Egypt's  plenteous  years  for  the  years  of  famine. 

This  principle  applies  not  alone  to  the  headwaters  of  our  inland  streams 
but  to  our  Great  Lakes  as  well.  Nature  or  Nature's  God  made  those 
vast  reservoirs,  and  the  natural  conditions  make  them  easy  of  control. 
There  should  be  international  cooperation  for  the  construction  of  the 
works  which  shall  govern  the  outflow  from  the  Great  Lakes  with  an  ease 
and  certainty  akin  to  that  which  governs  the  outflow  from  any  artificial 
reservoir.  The  water  of  these  Great  Lakes  is  needed  for  the  use  of  that 
fresh-water  fleet  which  is  the  pride  of  all  our  People,  and  mitigates  the 
mortification  which  we  feel  when  we  contemplate  the  high  seas,  upon 
which  we  have  no  merchant  marine.  But  the  waters  of  the  Great  Lakes 
are  needed  for  another  waterway,  that  great  waterway  from  the  Lakes  to 
the  Gulf. 

Of  that  waterway  the  ship-masters  of  the  Lakes  are  jealous  and  dis- 
trustful, not  because  they  object  to  it  as  a  waterway,  but  because  they 
fear  that  any  water  taken  from  their  inland  seas  for  that  purpose  will 
tend  to  shallow  the  channels  between  those  inland  seas  and  diminish 
their  carrying  capacity.  There  is  enough  and  to  spare  for  them  and  us. 
Give  us  half  of  the  wasted  water  and,  as  demonstrated  by  results,  they 
would  never  know  that  the  Lakes  had  been  tapped  by  an  artificial  drain. 

This  Lakes-to-Gulf  waterway  is  a  beneficent  project  in  many  ways; 
the  natural  resources  of  our  land  can  be  put  to  no  higher  use  than  the 
conservation  of  the  health  and  preservation  of  the  lives  of  the  human 
race,  and  this  waterway  is  instrumental  in  its  work  on  those  lines. 

The  Sanitary  and  Ship  canal,  the  first  link  in  this  waterway,  has  been 
in  service  ever  since  January  17,  1900,  and  the  statistics  of  our  health 
department  show  a  saving  of  16,299  lives  in  the  intervening  period, 
directly  traceable  to  the  reversal  of  the  flow  of  the  Chicago  river  from 
the  lake.  The  enemies  of  the  proposition  say  that  the  people  of  Chicago 
are  protecting  their  own  vitality  at  the  expense  of  their  neighbors.  The 
truth  of  this  charge  has  been  tested  by  a  litigation  extending  over  a 
period  of  six  years,  perhaps  the  most  costly  and  exhaustive  legal  contest 
ever  carried  on  in  our  courts.  The  testimony  filled  eight  printed  vol- 
umes of  1 ,000  pages  each.     The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  in 

(356) 


Statement  by  Isham  Randolph 


an  opinion  handed  down  on  February  19,  1906,  by  Mr  Justice  Holmes, 
decided  in  favor  of  the  Sanitary  District.  The  self-purification  of  run- 
ning streams  as  illustrated  in  this  instance  is  indisputable  and  conclusive. 

The  Illinois  river  is  a  food  producer;  its  fish  crop  is  second  only  to  that 
of  Columbia  river,  and  it  affords  occupation  and  support  to  numerous 
people.  On  the  authority  of  the  Illinois  Fish  Commission,  I  can  state 
that  since  the  introduction  of  the  waters  of  Lake  Michigan  the  fish  crop 
of  the  Illinois  river  has  increased  in  quantity  and  improved  in  quality. 
Formerly  in  extremely  hot  summers  the  water  became  so  stagnant  and 
so  foul  that  the  fish  died  in  great  numbers  and  became  a  nuisance  and  a 
stench  along  the  banks.  Since  the  turning  in  of  the  lake  water  nothing 
of  this  kind  has  occurred;  there  has  been  a  sufficient  and  steady  flow 
for  the  support  of  fish  life,  and  the  stream  has  been  wholesome  and  com- 
paratively cool. 

The  Lakes-to-Gulf  Waterway  is  therefore  a  conservator  of  the  health 
of  more  than  two  million  inhabitants.  It  provides  a  navigable  waterway 
of  untold  value  to  the  whole  People.  It  produces  a  water  power  which 
will  relieve  the  demand  upon  the  coal  fields,  and  so  prolong  the  period  of 
that  supply.  And  finally  it  adds  to  the  food  supply  of  the  Nation  by 
fostering  fish  culture  and  productiveness. 

All  of  these  things  it  does,  and  it  has  not  yet  adversely  affected  lake 
navigation,  and  with  intelligent  conservation  of  the  now  waste  waters  of 
these  inland  seas  it  never  will,  even  though  the  draft  upon  them  be 
double  that  which  the  needs  of  sanitation  and  inland  waterways  now 
seem  to  demand. 


PLANS  FOR  CONSERVATION 

Henry  Riesenberg 
of  indiana 

The  several  States  of  the  Union,  and  the  United  States  itself,  are  the 
owners  of  natural  resources  of  vast  value.  These  consist  of  farm  lands, 
timber  lands,  minerals,  waters,  and  waterways.  Their  development  is  a 
matter  of  deep  concern  to  the  Nation  and  to  the  States,  involving  enor- 
mous expenditures  and  inestimable  returns.  Though  of  sectional  inter- 
est by  reason  of  their  location,  their  complete  utilization  is  fundamentally 
beneficial  to  the  country  at  large,  and  possible  only  with  its  cooperation. 
An  attempt  at  development  on  the  part  of  the  separate  States  must  be 

(357) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


local,  incomprehensive,  and  inadequate.  These  efforts  must  cease  at  the 
State  boundary  lines,  although  a  full  realization  of  results  may  be 
attained  only  by  obliterating  political  divisions.  In  no  other  way  can 
comprehensive,  intelligent  work  be  accomplished.  Not  only  is  an  indi- 
vidual State  impotent,  but  its  policies  and  expenditures  may  be  open  to 
the  control  of  interests  ignorant,  selfish,  or  corrupt.  National  develop- 
ment is  possible  only  by  a  national  agency,  whose  policy  it  should  be  to 
realize  on  behalf  of  the  Nation  a  development  of  its  own  natural  resources 
and  those  of  the  States.  This  will  necessitate  a  cooperation  of  all  the 
States  of  the  Federal  Government  and,  whilst  in  no  sense  a  believer  in  the 
theory  of  a  centralized  government,  I  do  believe  that  the  time  has  come, 
as  so  ably  pointed  out  in  recent  addresses  delivered  by  President  Roose- 
velt and  Secretary  Root,  when  the  principle  should  be  recognized  and 
absolutely  insisted  upon  that  the  property  rights  of  the  individual  are 
subordinate  to  the  rights  of  the  State,  and  the  property  rights  of  the 
State  subordinate  to  the  rights  of  all  the  People  of  the  entire  Nation. 

In  view  of  this  principle,  then,  I  advocate  that  all  natural  resources 
owned  by  the  States  should  be  merged  with  those  owned  by  the  United 
States,  and  as  a  consummation  of  the  groundwork  of  such  a  plan,  I  pro- 
pose the  following  method  of  procedure,  the  same  being  based  strictly  on 
business  principles,  viz : 

(i)  That  the  Governors  of  the  various  States  and  the  Secretary  of  the 
Interior  of  the  United  States  prepare  a  schedule  of  the  natural  resources 
belonging  to  each,  this  to  include  lands,  forests,  minerals,  waters,  and 
waterways. 

(2)  After  such  a  schedule  has  been  prepared,  that  the  President  of  the 
United  States  be  empowered  to  appoint  an  Appraisal  Commission  to 
determine  the  value  of  such  resources,  and  after  such  appraisal,  the 
several  States,  and  the  Federal  Government  as  well,  to  be  given  credit 
for  the  several  amounts  allotted  by  this  Commission. 

(3)  That  the  National  Congress  create  a  Department,  to  be  called 
"The  Department  of  Natural  Resources  and  Public  Works,"  whose  head 
shall  be  a  member  and  the  executive  of  a  Commission  to  include  the  Gov- 
ernors of  the  vStates  of  the  Union,  each  of  whom  shall  act  as  Commissioner 
from  his  State,  to  serve  during  his  term  of  office,  ex  officio  and  without 
compensation  other  than  the  payment  of  expenses,  for  the  administration 
if  the  above-named  resources.  In  this  Department  shall  be  merged  the 
Forest  Service,  Mines  and  Minerals  Bureaus,  Reclamation  Service, 
etc.,  etc.  This  Department  and  Commission  shall  control  the  develop- 
ment of  all  natural  resources  such  as  lands,  forests,  minerals,  water  powers, 
and  the  improvement  of  waterways,  and  shall  also  direct  all  such  works 
us  irrigation,  forestation,  reclamation  of  swamp  lands,  and  other  similar 
enterprises. 

(358) 


Statement  by  Henry  Riesenberg 


(4)  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  Congress,  if  requested  by  the  Commission, 
to  issue  bonds  against  these  natural  resources  in  order  to  carry  out  and 
develop  the  plans  promulgated  by  the  Commission  to  conserve  our 
national  resources. 

As,  in  the  course  of  time,  it  becomes  necessary  to  sell  lands  that  have 
been  reclaimed,  both  by  drainage  and  irrigation,  to  cut  and  sell  timber, 
to  mine  and  sell  coal  and  other  minerals,  to  develop  and  sell  electrical 
energy  derived  from  water  power,  thereby  insuring  a  vast  income  to  the 
Department,  it  is  suggested  that  the  Commission  should,  annually  or  bien- 
nially, direct  to  be  paid  to  the  several  States  and  to  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment the  income  thus  received  from  such  sales,  minus  the  expenses  of 
operating  the  Department,  paying  to  each  State  a  proper  and  pro  rata 
share  according  to  the  appraised  value  of  the  natural  resources  turned 
in  by  each  to  the  general  stock. 

In  this  way  a  comprehensive  policy  for  the  conservation  of  our  natural 
resources  can  be  formulated  and  maintained  at  no  expense  to  the  General 
Government  nor  to  the  States,  as  the  income  derived  from  the  intelligent 
development  of  the  resources  will  pay  for  the  exploitation  of  the  same, 
and,  in  addition,  will  return  handsome  dividends  on  the  investment,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  vast  and  incalculable  benefits  derived  by  every  person 
living  in  this  country. 


FORESTRY  AS  RELATED  TO  MINING  INTERESTS 

John  B.  Atkinson 

OF    KENTUCKY 

Kentucky,  with  40,400  square  miles  of  territory,  1,500  miles  of  navi- 
gable rivers,  15,000  square  miles  of  coal  lands,  and  20,000  square  miles  of 
forest,  stands  second  to  none  of  the  great  commonwealths  of  the  Missis- 
sippi valley  in  its  possibilities. 

As  yet  its  coal  fields  have  been  but  lightly  touched,  and  we  safely 
count  on  200,000,000,000  tons  of  coal  to  be  won  by  present  methods  of 
mining — enough  to  supply  the  whole  United  States  with  its  fuel  for  450 
years,  at  the  present  rate  of  consumption. 

While  our  coal  fields  are  barely  touched  as  yet,  we  can  not  claim  this 
for  our  forests.  In  Kentucky  the  oaks,  hickories,  tulips,  gums,  chest- 
nuts, maples,  beeches,  sycamores,  ash,  elms,  walnuts,  etc.,  grow  to  a 
perfection  equaled  in  but  few  States  in  this  country  of  ours.  Only  in 
Tennessee,  Missouri,  and  Arkansas  perhaps  can  the  variety  and  value  of 
timber  be  found  to  equal  that  of  Kentucky. 

(359) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


With  half  the  State  still  occupied  by  forest,  and  with  the  knowledge 
that  almost  every  part  of  this  is  reached  by  the  logger  or  the  saw-mill, 
it  is  difficult  to  estimate  now  how  much  oak  or  other  lumber  is  still  avail- 
able. Enormous  drains  have  been  made  the  past  few  years,  and  it  is  well 
known  at  the  great  hardwood  markets  that  the  quality  of  the  oak  sent 
to  market  is  very  inferior  to  that  of  a  few  years  ago.  Smaller  trees  are 
cut,  and  timber  is  sent  that  would  then  have  been  refused.  One  of  the 
largest  mill  owners  in  the  State  remarked  to  me  a  few  days  ago  that 
probably  not  over  10%  of  the  oak  received  at  the  mills  could  be  used 
as  quarter-sawed  oak.  Some  years  ago  this  same  gentleman  filled  an 
order  from  the  United  States  Government  for  50  winter-cut  white  oak 
sticks  16  x  16  x  52  feet  long.  It  took  a  large  tract  of  country  then  to 
furnish  this  bill.  Now  probably  but  few  counties  could  produce  such 
timber.  How  few  of  us  know  the  length  of  time  it  takes  for  nature  to 
produce  such  trees!  In  Hopkins  county  the  average  age  of  31  white 
oaks,  grown  to  a  diameter  across  the  stump  of  12  inches,  was  105  years. 
The  youngest  tree  of  the  lot  to  reach  12  inches  was  75  years  old;  the 
oldest  one  of  the  lot  was  312  years. 

Twenty  white  oak  trees,  with  an  average  diameter  of  28  inches  at  the 
stump,  gave  an  average  age  of  204  years.  The  youngest  tree  was  149 
years,  with  a  diameter  of  24  inches;  the  oldest  tree  was  312  years,  with  a 
diameter  of  36  inches.  But  five  trees  of  this  lot  were  30  inches  in 
diameter  and  upward. 

For  a  number  of  years  I  have  kept  count  of  the  ages  of  various  trees 
when  cut,  and  deduce  the  following: 

It  takes  105  years  for  a  white  oak  in  a  forest  to  grow  to  12  inches  in 
diameter;  black  walnut  will  require  56  years;  Texas  red  oak,  58  years; 
Spanish  oak,  66  years;  black  locust,  45  years;  the  hickories,  90  years; 
blue  ash,  76  years;  sweet-gum,  62  years;  tulip  or  yellow  poplar,  50 
years. 

To  discover  what  nature  can  produce  in  the  way  of  a  forest  in  Ken- 
tucky, I  selected  the  finest  tract  of  timber  I  know  in  the  State  (and  it  is 
in  Hopkins  county),  measuring  off  three  selected  acres  each  200  by  217 
feet.  Taking  only  trees  24  inches  in  diameter  and  over,  I  found  the 
first  acre  had  growing  on  it  35,860  feet  b.  m.,  as  follows: 

White  oak n,354 

Black  oak 13,  756 

Sweet  gum 9,  450 

Sour  gum 800 

Poplar 500 

A  total  of  19  trees.  The  largest  tree  on  this  acre  was  a  white  oak 
containing  5,780  feet  b.  m. 


(360) 


Statement  by  John  B.  Atkinson 


The  second  acre  gave  49,628  feet  b.  m.,  as  follows: 

Feet 

White  oak 31.  I28 

Black  oak 4,  000 

Poplar 7,  70° 

Sweetgum 5>3°o 

Hickory 1 ,  000 

Ash 500 

A  total  of  21  trees.  The  largest  tree  was  a  white  oak  containing  7,016 
feet  b.  m.  of  timber.  This  tree  would  cut  a  log  82  feet  long.  A  second 
white  oak  on  this  acre  72  feet  high  would  cut  5,512  feet. 

The  third  acre  gave  50,146  feet  b.  m.,  as  follows: 

Feet 

White  oak ., 1 3 »  44-6 

Black  oak 18,  300 

Sweetgum 11,  100 

Elm 3,5°° 

Ash 1,500 

Hickory 1,  4°° 

Poplar 4°° 

Sour  gum 5°° 

A  fourth  selected  piece  300  feet  by  100  feet,  or  nearly  three-fourths  of 
an  acre,  gave  in  14  white  oak  trees,  49,198  feet  b.  m.;  3  black  oak  trees, 
10,570  feet  b.  m. :  a  total  oak  growth  over  24  inches  diameter  of  59,768 
feet  b.  m. 

The  mining  company  with  which  I  am  connected  has  a  large  estate  in 
mining  lands  which  are  timbered  as  well.  Coal  mining  in  Kentucky 
requires  quite  three  feet  b.  m.  to  each  ton  of  coal  won.  Less  than  one- 
third  of  this  would  be  commercial  lumber,  the  props,  with  some  other 
timbers  used  in  mining,  being  made  largely  from  timber  unmarketable. 

Care  is  taken  in  cutting  mine  timbers  that  the  growing  trees  are 
injured  as  little  as  possible — no  trees  less  than  24  inches  in  diameter  are 
cut  unless  showing  signs  of  decay. 

Estimating  the  annual  growth  of  the  forest  at  55  cubic  feet  per  acre, 
of  which  but  15  cubic  feet  would  be  commercial  lumber,  it  would  take 
6,000  acres  of  forest  to  produce  the  three  millions  feet  b.  m.  of  timber 
needed  to  mine  one  million  tons  of  coal  and  maintain  the  forest  per- 
petually, which  is  our  object. 

To  still  further  provide  for  the  future,  my  company  since  1898  has 
planted  over  one  million  of  black  walnuts — one-third  on  127  acres  of 
farm  land,  the  other  two-thirds  in  vacant  places  in  woodlands. 

During  the  past  three  years  120,000  catalpas  and  110,000  black 
locusts  have  been  planted  on  325  acres  of  farm  land.  All  these  young 
forests  are  cultivated  for  three  years,  and  all  are  under  fence.  It  is 
the  intention  of  this  company  to  plant  trees  on  50  acres  to  100  acres 

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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


yearly  in  the  future — a  very  modest  effort  to  replace  for  the  future  the 
many  millions  of  feet  of  timber  used  by  the  mines  in  the  past. 

In  addition  to  the  above,  10,000  tulip  trees  have  been  planted  out 
since  1900. 

The  catalpa  and  locust  trees  are  planted  8  feet  by  8  feet,  the  tulip  10 
feet  by  10  feet,  the  walnuts  4  feet  by  4  feet. 

The  catalpas  and  locusts  are  nursery  grown;  the  walnuts  are  planted 
where  the  tree  is  expected  to  grow.  The  tulip  seedlings  are  carefully 
taken  up  from  the  forest  and  transplanted  in  shaded  moist  ground  in 

July. 

We  heard  on  yesterday  much  about  the  enormous  waste  of  fuel  in  the 
coal  mining  of  the  past,  as  well  as  of  the  great  loss  of  life  in  the  coal  mining- 
industry  of  the  present.  Both  these  statements  are  correct.  While  the 
loss  of  life  in  the  coal  mines  of  the  entire  country  now  means  seven  lives 
to  win  one  million  tons  of  coal,  there  are  exceptions  to  this,  especially 
in  Kentucky. 

One  Kentuckv  company  producing  more  than  one-seventh  the  output 
of  the  State  sacrificed  in  the  past  ten  years  but  one  life  in  the  winning  of 
1 ,100,000  tons  of  coal.  This  same  company  markets  full  75%  of  the  coal 
in  the  veins  worked. 

While  there  is  much  improvement  in  mining  coal  today  compared  with 
the  past,  there  remains  much  to  be  done;  first,  to  reduce  the  death-rate; 
second,  to  reduce  the  amount  of  coal  that  is  left  in  the  mines;  third,  to 
plant  trees  when  possible,  to  furnish  in  future  the  needed  timber  for 
mining  operations. 

Where  timber  lands  are  owned  by  the  miner  or  operator,  begin  today 
to  conserve  them.  Do  not  wait  for  the  Nation  or  the  State  to  begin 
forest  preservation.  It  is  patriotism  of  the  highest  order  for  the  indi- 
vidual citizen,  the  individual  corporation,  to  do  this. 


THE  FORESTS  OF  MAINE 
Edgar  E.  Ring 

STATE    FOREST   COMMISSIONER   OF    MAINE 

The  total  area  of  Maine  is  31,500  square  miles,  or  only  1,200  square 
miles  less  than  all  the  rest  of  New  England  combined. 

Of  this  area  about  21,000  square  miles,  or  two-thirds  of  the  total  area, 
is  woodland.  The  State  of  Maine,  in  common  with  all  other  States 
owning  large  tracts  of  timber  lands,  made  the  mistake  of  not  holding 
them,  but  sold  them;  so  that  now  only  about   150  square  miles  or  one 

(362) 


Statement  by  Edgar  E.  Ring 


three  hundred  and  fortieth  of  its  wild  lands  is  owned  or  controlled  by 
the  State,  the  balance  by  private  ownership. 

There  are  428  incorporated  towns,  20  cities,  73  plantations  and  443 
unincorporated  townships.     The  latter  are  covered  with  forests. 

The  climatic  and  soil  conditions  of  Maine  make  it  peculiarly  well 
adapted  to  the  growth  of  a  large  number  of  valuable  trees,  particularly 
pine  and  spruce.  While  it  is  true  that  much  the  larger  part  of  the  old 
growth  pine  has  been  cut,  there  are  still  many  hundreds  of  million  feet  of 
second  growth  of  a  size  suitable  for  lumber  standing  in  our  forests  today. 

Careful  estimates  made  in  1902,  taking  each  town  by  itself,  showed 
that  the  stand  of  spruce  on  the  different  watersheds  of  the  State  was  in 
excess  of  21  billion  feet,  or  one-third  of  the  entire  stand  in  the  United 
States.  The  trees  were  figured  at  a  size  of  12  inches  on  the  stump,  at 
the  swell  of  the  roots.  Nearly  all  of  this  timber  is  located  along:  the 
different  river  systems  and  is  very  accessible  to  market,  no  logging  rail- 
roads ever  having  been  used  in  Maine.  From  observations  and  studies 
made  by  the  United  States  Forestry  Department  in  1902  it  was  estimated 
that  the  annual  growth  of  spruce  in  Maine  under  ordinary  conditions 
would  equal  3^%.  This  being  the  case  the  spruce  forests  of  this  State,  by 
economical  cutting,  will  stand  a  cut  of  743  million  feet  annually  without 
depleting  the  supply.  As  the  annual  cut  is  about  750  million  feet,  it  will 
be  seen  that  if  fires  can  be  kept  from  our  forests  there  is  no  great  danger 
from  a  spruce  famine  in  Maine  at  present. 

It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  on  some  of  the  river  systems  spruce  is 
being  cut  somewhat  more  rapidly  than  the  annual  growth,  but  taking 
the  State  as  a  whole,  with  the  present  forest  fire  laws  in  force,  and  with 
the  more  progressive  method  of  economical  cutting  and  preservation  of 
the  smaller  growth,  which  is  rapidly  superseding  the  old  wasteful  methods 
of  lumbering,  Maine  wall  be  able  to  produce  annually  at  least  700  million 
feet  of  spruce  (of  a  size  12  inches  on  the  stump)  for  many  years  to  come. 

In  addition  to  the  spruce  and  pine,  immense  quantities  of  cedar,  hem- 
lock, and  the  various  kinds  of  hardwoods  are  distributed  everywhere 
throughout  the  State.  Of  the  hardwoods,  except  the  white  birch, 
which  has  developed  into  a  very  important  industry  in  the  manufacture 
of  spools  and  novelties,  very  little  has  been  utilized  up  to  the  present 
time.  As  these  different  varieties  of  woods  are  very  valuable,  it  is  only 
a  question  of  time  before  they  will  be  utilized  and  made  profitable  to  the 
State. 

While  careful  and  economical  cutting  is  being  observed  by  the  larger 
land  owners,  there  has  been  a  tendency  in  recent  years  in  some  of  the 
southern  counties  to  strip  the  lands,  in  the  desire  for  immediate  returns, 
and  to  the  great  injury  of  the  owners  and  the  water  powers  upon  which 
the  forests  largely  depend.     As  a  result,  some  of  the  people  of   that 


(363) 
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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


section,  realizing  the  great  value  of  their  forests  to  the  State  from  a 
commercial  standpoint,  the  preservation  of  its  valuable  water  powers, 
and  the  general  utilities  of  public  interest,  asked  for  a  law  at  the  last 
session  of  the  Legislature  to  prohibit  the  cutting  of  spruce  and  pine  of  a 
size  below  12  inches  at  the  stump.  There  was  considerable  opposition 
to  this  measure,  many  of  the  members  believing  that  such  an  act  would 
be  unconstitutional.  As  a  result,  an  order  was  passed  by  the  Legislature 
asking  for  an  opinion  from  the  Supreme  Court  of  Maine  as  to  the  con- 
stitutionality of  a  law  to  restrict  the  cutting  of  trees  on  the  wild  lands 
of  the  private  holders,  in  the  interests  of  forestry,  the  preservation  of 
water  powers  and  rainfall,  and  the  general  utilities  of  public  interest  in 
these  domains;  the  substance  of  which  opinion  is  that  it  is  entirely 
competent  for  the  Legislature,  by  statutory  enactment,  reasonably  to 
regulate  the  cutting  of  trees  upon  such  lands. 

The  principal  reasons  that  could  be  advanced  against  the  passage  of  such  an  act 
are  the  guaranteed  right  of  "  acquiring  possession  and  defending  property, "  and  the 
provision  that  "  private  property  shall  not  be  taken  for  public  uses  without  just  com- 
pensation." 

There  are  two  reasons  of  great  weight  for  not  applying  this  strict  construction  of 
the  constitutional  provision  to  property  in  land:  First,  such  property  is  not  the  result 
of  productive  labor,  but  is  derived  solely  from  the  State  itself,  the  original  owner; 
second,  the  amount  of  land  being  incapable  of  increase,  if  the  owners  of  large  tracts 
can  waste  them  at  will  without  State  restriction,  the  State  and  its  People  may  be 
helplessly  impoverished  and  one  great  purpose  of  government  defeated. 

It  is  very  probable  that  as  a  result  of  this  opinion  a  law  will  be  passed 
at  the  next  session  of  the  Legislature  to  prevent  the  "  skinning  "  of  wood- 
lands in  Maine. 

The  value  of  the  pulp  and  paper  product  in  1905  was  given  at 
$22,951,124,  an  increase  of  about  60%  in  five  years.  The  number  of 
pulp  and  paper  mills  in  Maine  in  1905  was  37,  and  since  that  time  a 
number  have  been  added.  The  capital  invested  in  this  industry 
amounted  in  1905  to  $41,273,915;  the  average  number  of  men  employed 
being  7,574,  and  the  wages  paid  amounting  to  $4,052,919,  making  the 
pulp  and  paper  industry  take  the  first  rank  in  the  varied  industries  in 
the  State,  that  position  having  been  held  five  years  before  by  the  cotton 
manufactories. 

The  lumber  and  timber  products,  including  planing  mills,  were  valued 
in  1905  at  $17,086,699,  an  increase  from  1900  of  about  43%;  12,968 
men  being  employed,  and  the  wages  paid  amounting  to  $5,894,559. 

Maine  has  a  "forest  fire"  law  which  has  been  tested  for  about  five 
years  and  it  has  been  found  to  work  very  satisfactorily.  Under  this 
law  about  a  dozen  "Chief  Forest  Fire  Wardens"  are  appointed,  located 
in  different  parts  of  the  State,  and  there  are  about  200  Deputy  Wardens 
who  work  under  the  Chief  Wardens.     These  men  are  kept  at  work  only 

(364) 


Statement  by  Edgar  E.  Ring 


when  it  is  necessary  in  a  very  dry  time,  hence  the  system  does  not  cost 
as  much  as  it  would  seem  at  first  thought.     The  State  appropriates 
£20,000  annually  for  the  prevention  and  extinguishment  of  forest  fires 
and  the  land  owners  expend  as  much  or  more. 

MAINE'S   WATER    POWERS 

In  1867  a  scientific  examination  of  the  water  power  of  the  State  was 
made  by  order  of  the  Legislature,  and  the  following  facts  were  ascer- 
tained: There  are  fourteen  river  systems,  the  four  largest  of  which  are 
the  Penobscot,  160  miles  in  length,  with  a  drainage  area  of  8,200  square 
miles;  the  St.  John  system  in  Maine  is  117  miles  in  length  and  contains 
7,400  square  miles;  the  Androscoggin  system  is  1 10  miles  in  length  area 
2,750  square  miles;  the  Kennebec,  145  miles  in  length,  area  5,800  square 
miles.  The  other  systems  are  smaller  but  still  important  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  State.  ^ 

The  mean  height  of  the  surface  of  the  State  is  600  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  sea.     Careful  computations  made  show  that  these  rivers  in  their 
descent  to  tide  water  yield  a  net  force  of  upward  of  one  million  horse- 
power, equivalent  to  the  working  energy  of  over  thirteen  million  men 
laboring  without  intermission  from  year's  end  to  year's  end 

Maine  contains  more  lake  surface  than  a  million  square  miles  of  the 
United  States  situated  in  the  central  and  west  central  districts  and 
south  of  the  lake  belt,  not  including  the  lagoons  connected  with  some  of 
the  rivers  which  are  not  properly  lakes.  There  are  1,568  lakes  located 
within  the  State  boundaries,  with  an  area  of  22,000  square  miles  There 
is  one  lake  to  each  20  square  miles  of  territory  and  one  square  mile  of 
lakes  to  each  14  square  miles  of  territorial  area,  and  the  high  elevation 
above  tide  at  which  many  of  the  highest  lakes  are  held  is  a  circumstance 
of  great  importance  as  regards  water  power. 

The  Rangeley  lake  at  the  head  of  the  Androscoggin  is  1,511  feet  above 
the  sea  level;  Moosehead  lake,  40  miles  long,  is  1,023  feet  above  the  sea 
lo  show  the  comparative  elevation  of  these  lakes  with  other  lakes  in 
the  Umted  States:  Lake  Itasca,  at  the  extreme  headwaters  of  the  Missis- 
sippi river,  is  elevated  only   i,575  feet,  or  little  above  the  height  of 
Rangeley  lake.     Lake  Superior,   1,800  miles  by  river  from  the  ocean 
is  elevated  only  630  feet  or  about  two-thirds  the  height  of  Moosehead 
lake.     Lake  Winnipiseogee,  in  New  Hampshire,  is  but  501  feet  above 
tide,  or  500  feet  below  the  large  lakes  at  the  head  of  the  Penobscot 
So  our  lakes  hold  their  water  in  a  state  of  great  and  unusual  reserve 
poWer_power  that  is  given  forth  as  the  water  falls  to  the  sea  along  the 
courses  of  our  rivers. 

It  has  been  found  that  the  average  rainfall  in  the  State  is  42  inches 
which  is  distributed  with  remarkable  uniformity  at  different  seasons  of 

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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


the  year.  The  practical  consequence  of  this  in  connection  with  other 
climatic  features  is  that  the  rivers  of  the  State,  to  a  remarkable  extent, 
enjoy  immunity  from  those  ruinous  drawbacks  to  water-power  manu- 
facturing, water  dearth  and  freshet,  and  as  the  storage  basins  are  be- 
coming more  developed  and  used  for  a  summer  reserve,  the  inconven- 
ience resulting  from  these  drawbacks  is  being  gradually  lessened. 
Gov  Nelson  Dingley  in  his  address  to  the  Legislature  in  1874  said: 

It  is,  however,  when  the  magnificent  water  power  of  Maine  is  considered,  that  this 
State  stands  forth  the  first  in  the  Union,  and  presents  resources  which  when  developed 
will  make  it  second  to  no  other.  Indeed,  few,  if  any,  portions  of  the  earth's  surface 
approach  Maine  in  the  extent,  volume,  momentum,  and  constancy  of  its  water  power. 
One  thousand  five  hundred  and  sixty-eight  lakes,  at  an  average  elevation  of  six 
hundred  feet  above  the  sea,  form  the  headwaters  of  five  thousand  one  hundred  and 
fifty-one  streams,  which  go  rushing  down  towards  the  ocean,  creating  over  three 
thousand  water  powers,  which  afford  a  force  measured  by  not  less  than  one  million 
horsepowers,  and  equal  to  the  working  energy  of  thirteen  million  men!  When  it  is 
remembered  that  not  a  thousandth  part  of  the  water  power  of  the  State  is  as  yet 
harnessed  to  machinery,  some  faint  idea  of  the  almost  boundless  extent  of  our  manu- 
facturing resources  may  be  obtained. 

THE    CLIMATE    -VXD    SCENIC    ATTRACTIONS    OF    MAINE 

The  climate  and  scenic  beauty  of  the  State  of  Maine  are  of  unsur- 
passed loveliness  and  grandeur  from  the  first  of  May  to  November. 

Its  healing  springs  and  its  healthful  and  invigorating  atmosphere  are 
a  distinctive  feature.  Statistics  show  Maine  to  be  the  coolest  in  summer 
of  any  State  in  the  Union.  There  are  a  multitude  of  places  where  cool 
breezes  blow,  where  there  is  no  enervating  humidity  and  where  the 
thermometer  does  not  register  above  the  seventies. 

There  is  no  place  in  the  wide  world  which  equals  Maine  in  this  respect, 
for  while  in  a  straight  line  the  Maine  coast  would  have  a  length  of  but 
300  miles,  it  has  by  its  hundreds  of  deep  coves  and  bays,  sandy  beaches 
and  rocky  headlands,  an  actual  sea  wall  of  3,000  miles.  Every  foot  is 
scenically  beautiful  and  made  cool  by  copious  draughts  from  melted 
icebergs,  which  form  the  Arctic  current  that  flows  around  Cape  Sable 
in  Nova  Scotia,  thence  along  the  Maine  coast  until  it  joins  the  Gulf 
Stream.  But  it  is  not  by  its  seacoast  alone  that  Maine  offers  attrac- 
tions to  the  world;  the  great  extent  of  her  forests,  seven  times  that  of 
the  famous  "Black  Forest  of  Germany"  at  its  largest  expanse  in  modern 
times,  wherein  the  States  of  Rhode  Island,  Connecticut,  and  Delaware- 
could  be  lost  together  and  still  have  about  each  a  margin  of  wilderness 
sufficiently  wide  to  make  its  exploration  without  a  guide  a  work  of  des- 
perate adventure,  and  the  great  abundance  of  moose  and  deer  therein, 
the  multitude  of  lakes,  ponds  and  streams  teeming  with  myriads  of  fish, 
her  beautiful  rivers — Nature's  great  highways  from  the  mountains  to 

(366) 


Statement  by  Edgar  E.  Ring 

the  sea— her  geographic  position  almost  precisely  equidistant  betwixt 
the  equator  and  the  pole,  variable  winds,  nonperiodic  rains,  the  entire 
absence  of  a  single  dangerous  animal,  venomous  reptile,  or  poisonous 
insect,  all  combine  to  make  the  State  of  Maine  altogether  the  most 
delightful  place  to  be  in  of  any  among  the  galaxy  of  States  that  make 
up  our  glorious  Union. 


THE  CONSERVATION  PROBLEM 
Chase  S.  Osborn 

OF    MICHIGAN 

The  problem  of  the  conservation  of  the  raw  materials  of  our  country 
is  by  far  the  most  important  question  before  the  people  at  this  time 
even  more  important  than  that  of  a  larger  navy  or  of  the  tariff 

The  questions  of  the  tariff  and  of  the  navy  are  artificial.  If  we  are 
going  to  waste  our  raw  materials  prodigally  and  indiscriminately  there 
will  be  no  need  for  a  navy;  and  if  we  are  going  to  waste  them,  a  tariff 
wall  as  high  as  Sirius  would  not  avail  to  keep  us  on  an  equality  with 
those  peoples  who  have  richer  raw  materials  than  we  have. 

The  great  menace  of  Japan  in  the  near  future  is  not  one  of  war    but 
of   commercial    and    manufacturing   competition.     No   country   in'  the 
world  since  America  has  gotten  a  good  start  has  been  able  to  compete 
with  us  in  many  directions,  because  we  have  had  more  natural  advan- 
tages than  they  possessed.     All  this  may  be  changed  in  the  next  quarter 
of  a  century  or  less.     At  the  doorway  of  Japan,  in  Korea,  Manchuria, 
and  China,   there  are  as  many  untouched  raw  materials  located  con- 
veniently with  reference  to  transportation  as  we  have  in  this  country 
possibly  excepting  forests.     These  great  deposits  of  raw  materials,  con- 
sisting of  coal  and  iron  ore  and  other  useful  materials,  have  been  con- 
served by  what  may  turn  out  to  be  a  superstition  divinely  applied      That 
odd  and  incomprehensible  belief  in  Feng-Shui  among  the  Chinese  has 
operated  to  conserve  the  riches  of  the  earth    for  many  centuries    even 
if  it  has  caused  the  Chinese  many  tremors  and  much  useless  expense  to 
appease  the  demons  of  the  sea  and  the  sky.     All  these  have  been  paid 
for  and  more  by  the  treasures  they  have  not  wasted  on  account  of  their 
superstition.     Japan  will  sweep  Feng-Shui  aside  just  as  it  has  its  Samurai 
and  its  methods  of  yesterday.     It  will  attack  the  riches  of  all  countries 
adjacent  to  it  if  possible,  and  will  acquire  materials  that  will  enable  it 
effectively  to  enter  directly  into  manufacturing  competition  with  us. 

(367) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

But  there  is  no  argument  needed  to  convince  those  who  have  thought 
upon  the  matter  of  the  necessity  for  at  once  inaugurating  a  policy  of 
wise  conservation  of  our  forests,  soil,  coal,  iron  ore,  water  powers  and 
other  natural  wealth.  The  great  question  involved  is  as  to  how  this  can 
best  be  done.  We  shall  have  to  originate  ways  and  means  of  our  own, 
and  we  shall  also  have  to  borrow  from  the  ideas  of  older  nations.  Prob- 
ablv  the  most  important  single  object  of  economy  is  that  of  the  forests. 
They  are  more  important  than  iron  ore,  because  if  the  60%  ore  is  used 
today,  the  waste  piles  containing  the  40%  ore  can  be  attacked  tomorrow. 
If  the  coal  goes  in  a  few  centuries,  and  we  conserve  the  forests  and  water 
power,  we  will  have  fuel  in  the  form  of  wood  and  electricity,  not  to 
mention  the  possibility  of  stored  solar  heat. 

The  questions  of  economy  in  classes  bear  such  relation  to  each  other 
that  they  are  frequently  dependent  upon  each  other.  If  we  conserve 
the  forests  we  are  insured  rainfall,  and  the  streams  of  the  country  will 
take  care  of  the  various  water  powers,  as  well  as  navigation  and  irriga- 
tion supplies.  I  am  not  one  who  thinks  it  is  too  late  to  begin  this  work. 
A  century  ago  we  had  all  forests  and  few  farms.  We  could  not  have 
both  forest  and  farm.  The  one  has  replaced  the  other  to  a.  wholesome 
degree.  I  do  not  think  the  forest  equilibrium  has  been  dangerously 
disturbed,  but  it  is  high  time  that  the  matter  be  looked  into,  lest  we  go 
too  far  before  we  call  a  halt  and  begin  restitution  and  recuperation. 

In  many  portions  of  our  country,  and  in  other  lands,  nature  seems  to 
have  provided  for  the  conservation  of  forests  by  locating  vegetation  at 
places  where  it  can  not  profitably  be  assailed  for  commercial  purposes, 
or  does  not  grow  to  a  sufficient  size  to  be  commercially  valuable.  In 
the  Alps  this  has  made  for  a  high  Alpine  growth  that  will  never  be  much 
disturbed,  and  has  been  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  Rhine,  Danube, 
and  other  basins.  In  the  Rockies,  Cumberlands,  Alleghanies  and  all  the 
mountains  of  the  United  States,  the  same  is  true  to  a  degree.  Never- 
theless we  shall  have  to  assist  this  natural  provision  and  it  can  be  done. 

We  can  do  nothing  without  an  aroused  public  interest.  If  we  can 
ourselves,  and  can  influence  our  fellow  citizens  also,  to  realize  in  just 
what  degree  they  are  trustees  for  future  generations,  in  that  measure 
will  success  attend  our  efforts  at  conservation.  If  our  forefathers  had 
wasted  all  of  our  natural  riches  in  a  mad  race  for  wealth,  we  could  not 
remember  them  as  reverently  and  gloriously  as  we  do.  If  we  rob  our 
children  and  our  children's  children  of  those  things  which  nature  must 
have  planned  to  have  been  theirs,  we  will  leave  the  heritage  of  a  curse 
rather  than  of  a  blessing.  The  things  we  have  before  us  today,  given 
of  God  to  man,  are  in  the  nature  of  a  temporary  loan.  We  are  to  use 
them  wisely  and  not  too  rashly  or  carelessly  destroy,  and  to  do  our  best 
to  replace  that  which  we  have  consumed. 

(368) 


Statement  by  Chase  S.  Osborn 


I  have  sometimes  questioned  whether  commercial  and  moral  condi- 
tions that  permit  a  man  in  a  single  lifetime  to  accumulate  an  hundred 
million  dollars,  even  honestly,  out  of  the  soil,  are  rightful  conditions. 

It  is  a  question  whether  a  man  has  a  moral  right  to  destroy  the  riches 
of  the  earth,  no  matter  how  they  have  come  to  his  hands,  with  the  pur- 
pose of  gaining  more  than  he  can  eat  and  be  comfortable  with  and  be 
responsibly  helpful  to  those  about  him.  But  that  is  probably  another 
question,  even  though  it  may  indirectly  bear  upon  the  problem  of  raw 
material  conservation.  This  is  an  ethical  rather  than  a  legal  problem, 
but  we  shall  have  to  deal  with  sentiment  and  ethics  and  so  harmoniously 
unite  them  with  law  in  this  matter  of  conservation  that  it  is  not  irrelevant 
to  speak  of  them  here. 

Suppose  a  farmer  had  a  section  of  land;  suppose  that  at  first  it  was 
covered  with  forest,  as  has  been  the  case  in  the  past  in  many  instances; 
and  suppose  that  he  cuts  all  of  this  timber  off  and  sells  it  for  what  he  can 
get  for  it,  probably  delaying  the  last  day  by  manufacturing  some  of  it; 
and  then  suppose  that  he  goes  on  raising  the  crops  that  are  easiest  raised 
and  most  profitable  for  a  short  time,  until  he  has  wasted  the  substance 
of  his  soil.  In  all  of  these  years  in  which  he  has  been  carrying  on  this 
policy  he  has  accumulated  wealth,  but  in  the  last  analysis  he  will  have 
a  wasted  farm  and  nothing  to  eat  but  money.  Of  course  he  will  have 
money  with  which  to  buy  elsewhere,  but  where  will  he  buy?  We  are 
today  not  only  supplying  our  own  people  with  foodstuffs,  but  the  prod- 
ucts of  our  farms  find  their  way  to  every  corner  of  the  earth,  giving 
cheaper  and  more  wholesome  food  to  all  peoples.  It  is  estimated  that 
in  Italy  today  half  the  people  are  underfed,  and  Italy  is  not  a  nation 
below  the  average. 

We,  as  a  nation,  are  the  farmer  with  the  section  of  land — only  if  we 
cut  off  all  the  timber  it  will  give  a  more  direful  effect  than  that  attending 
the  removal  of  the  timber  off  the  single  section,  because  a  single  section 
would  not  influence  in  any  appreciable  degree  the  rainfall,  or  the  storing 
of  the  water  in  the  soil  to  be  released  slowly  and  helpfully.  But  if  we 
cut  down  all  of  the  forests  in  our  entire  country,  the  results  will  be  serious 
indeed.  Just  as  it  is  with  an  individual,  so  does  a  nation  waste  in  pro- 
portion as  it  accumulates  beyond  its  needs.  I  will  not  say  that  our  man- 
ner of  attending  to  our  farm  work  as  a  nation  is  bad,  but  I  will  say  that 
it  can  be  made  better. 

Our  agricultural  colleges  could  be  encouraged  even  more  than  they 
have  been.  They  are  turning  out  the  young  men  who  are  supposed  to 
conserve  our  greatest  interests,  while  the  manual  departments  of  other 
universities  are  turning  out  the  young  men  who  are  to  destroy  them  in 
manufacturing  and  otherwise. 

Much  splendid  reclamation  work  by  irrigation  and  drainage  is  going 
on  all  over  the  country,  and  the  tendency  of  the  times,  although  stimu- 


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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


lated  largely  by  selfishness,  grows  better  all  the  time.  If  we  can  awaken 
the  morals  of  our  people  to  the  pitch  where  they  will  work  to  accomplish 
things  because  it  is  right  to  do  so  rather  than  because  of  selfishness  or 
acquisitiveness,  or  at  least  to  work  because  of  all  these  reasons,  much 
will  have  been  accomplished. 

I  am  not  prepared  to  suggest  any  profound  or  rigid  plans,  but  with 
the  belief  that  it  is  better  to  suggest  something  on  an  occasion  of  this 
kind  than  nothing,  I  offer  the  following : 

i.  That  an  association  be  formed  with  members  from  each  State,  for 
the  purpose  of  carrying  out  the  objects  of  this  Conference. 

2.  That  a  practical  working  commission  within  this  association  be 

formed. 

3.  That  this  commission  shall  take  up  the  work  of  inaugurating  the 
study  of  practical  economics  in  the  public  schools  of  each  State,  as  well 
as  in  the  higher  schools  and  universities.  "As  the  twig  is  bent,  so  is  the 
tree  inclined."  That  the  study  of  simple  agricultural  methods  and  soil 
conservation  be  taught  in  the  intermediate  grades  below  the  grade  of  the 
high  school. 

4.  That  laws  regulating  the  size  of  timber  that  the  private  owner  may 
cut  be  considered.  In  other  countries  there  are  laws  preventing  the 
cutting  of  timber  under  six  inches  in  size.  It  may  be  considered  advis- 
able to  decrease  this  two  inches  and  make  it  unlawful  to  cut  down  trees 
less  than  four  inches  in  diameter. 

5.  Special  attention  should  be  given  to  the  taxation  of  forests.  There 
are  those  who  most  reasonably  contend  that  the  forest  is  a  growing  crop 
and  should  not  be  taxed  until  ripe  or  until  harvested.  Such  an  arrange- 
ment would  encourage  the  propagation  of  forests  generally  that  are  held 
by  private  owners.  At  present,  in  many  instances,  timber  lands  are  so 
highly  taxed  that  their  ownership  is  a  burden  and  the  timber  is  cut  to 
escape  the  burden  of  its  taxes 

6.  That  laws  be  considered  bearing  upon  the  question  of  requiring 
every  farmer  in  the  United  States  to  keep  a  wood  lot  of  reasonable  size 
where  trees  will  grow. 

7.  To  consider  the  wisdom  of  requiring  farmers  and  other  land  owners 
to  keep  trees  growing  on  all  their  fence  or  other  boundary  lines.  If  the 
farmers  in  the  walnut  section  of  America  thirty  years  ago  had  planted 
walnut  trees  along  all  of  their  fences,  the  country  would  be  many  millions 
of  dollars  richer  today  than  it  is. 

8.  That  adequate  fire  laws  be  passed  in  every  State  in  the  Union  and 
that  persons  cutting  timber  be  required  to  pile  and  burn  their  brush, 
instead  of  permitting  the  debris  to  accumulate  and  dry  on  the  ground 
as  a  menace  to  all  neighboring  property.  In  Michigan  there  has  been 
more  forest  loss  by  fire  starting  in  old  slashings  than  from  any  other 
cause,  and  this  is  probably  true  of  other  States. 

(370) 


Statement  by  Chase  S.  Osborn 


9.  That  a  special  study  be  made  of  the  cause  and  prevention  of  soil 
erosion,  and  that  the  results  be  distributed  throughout  the  schools  and 
otherwise  to  the  People  of  the  country. 

10.  That  consideration  be  given  to  the  vast  undeveloped  coal  deposits 
of  eastern  Kentucky  and  contiguous  area,  with  a  view,  if  legal  and  pos- 
sible, to  creating  a  Government  reservation  in  that  region. 

11.  That  water  powers  be  declared  the  property  of  the  State  or  Nation, 
and  that  persons  using  energy  of  this  character  shall  be  required  to  pay 
a  proper  rate  for  it.  It  seems  preposterous  and  grotesque  that  the  waters 
accumulating  over  the  entire  United  States  in  all  of  the  natural  channels, 
by  simply  passing  one  point  where  there  is  a  break  in  the  topography  of 
the  surface  shall  become  the  property  of  the  person  owning  the  land 
immediately  adjoining.  This  may  have  been  so  engrafted  in  our  laws 
and  perpetuated  so  long  that  it  will  be  difficult  to  correct. 

If  we  can  bring  about  such  of  the  above  things  as  are  wise,  and  more 
that  better  minds  will  suggest,  and  then  if  we  can  teach  our  children  to 
be  intelligently  economical  and  not  foolishly  miserly,  we  shall  have  made 
a  big  start  in  a  profitable  direction 


CONSERVATION   FROM   THE  VIEW-POINT    OF    RECREATION 

William  H.  Black,  D.D.,  LX.D. 

PRESIDENT   MISSOURI   VALLEY  COLLEGE 

The  arguments  for  the  conservation  of  our  natural  resources  have 
been  chiefly  utilitarian  and  economic,  though  one  speaker  considered  it 
very  wisely  from  an  esthetic  point  of  view— the  preservation  of  our 
natural  scenery. 

I  do  not  wish  to  minimize  any  consideration  which  may  be  advanced 
for  the  guarding  of  our  People  against  waste  and  final  impoverishment. 
But,  in  addition  to  what  has  been  urged,  I  direct  your  attention  to  the 
recreation  feature  of  the  question. 

Game  and  fish  are  very  important  to  the  food  supply  of  the  nation. 
The  depletion  of  the  forests,  along  with  other  conditions,  has  reduced 
enormously  the  game  fields— that  is,  the  places  where  game  thrives  and 
reproduces  itself  normally.  The  denudation  of  the  watersheds,  the 
soil  wash  which  colors  our  streams  and  fills  up  the  beds  of  our  rivers 
(and  which  is  most  serious  in  the  spawning  season),  has  reduced  the 
fish  supply  most  seriously  The  best  kinds  of  fish  can  not  live  in  muddy 
streams.  It  is  highly  important  therefore  that  watersheds  and  shore 
lines  be  reforested  in  the  interests  of  game  and  fish  supplies. 

(37i) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


So  far,  the  argument  is  utilitarian.  But  hunting  and  fishing  are  our 
finest  forms  of  recreation,  and  thousands  of  lives  are  bettered  by  the 
open  air,  the  change  of  scene,  the  mental  excitement,  and  the  good 
fellowship  of  hunting  and  fishing.  Does  not  our  President  enjoy  the 
chase,  and  did  not  Mr  Cleveland  angle  with  delight?  And  who  would 
take  such  refreshment  from  those  who  live  the  strenuous  life?  It  will 
be  a  sad  day  when  men  can  neither  hunt  nor  fish.  Woe  to  the  nation 
which  lacks  pure,  wholesome,  healthful  recreation!  As  we  provide 
playgrounds  for  our  children,  so  should  we  have  hunting  and  fishing 
grounds  for  the  men.  I  do  not  put  this  on  so  high  ground  as  the  utili- 
tarian or  economic,  yet  it  is  quite  important  to  the  health  and  efficiency 
of  thousands  of  our  fellow  citizens  who  work  at  high  tension,  in  dim 
offices,  for  long  hours.  Reforestation  means  more  game.  The  clarifi- 
cation and  sustentation  of  streams  means  more  fish.  These  two  together 
mean  more  food  and  in  greater  variety.  They  mean  also  the  prolonga- 
tion and  efficiency  of  many  valuable  human  lives — the  recreation  of 
thousands  of  fagged  minds. 


WATER  RESOURCES 
Henry  B.  Kummel,  Ph.D. 

STATE   GEOLOGIST   OF    NEW   JERSEY 

In  the  wise  conservation  of  our  natural  resources,  as  in  all  lines  of 
human  achievement,  knowledge  is  power.  Accurate  knowledge  of  the 
character  and  extent  of  our  resources  is  necessary  to  their  full  develop- 
ment and  conservation.  In  a  few  words  I  wish  to  outline  the  scope 
and  accuracy  of  the  knowledge  of  its  resources  which  my  State  of  New 
Jersey  has.  I  will  spare  you  details  and  figures,  and  will  speak  solely 
of  our  water  supplies  and  water  powers. 

We  have  accurate  and  detailed  knowledge  of  the  area  and  character 
of  every  watershed.  We  know  the  elevation  of  every  stream  and  of 
every  point  upon  that  stream  from  its  source  to  its  mouth.  We  know 
the  location  of  every  site  for  reservoir  and  dam.  We  know  the  size, 
location,  and  general  character  of  every  tract  of  forest  land  in  the  State. 
The  amount  and  distribution  of  our  rainfall  has  been  accurately  recorded. 
The  actual  flow  of  our  streams,  in  flood  and  in  drought,  has  been  meas- 
ured. Our  supplies  of  potable  water,  both  surface  and  underground, 
have  been  carefully  determined. 

The  amount  of  water  power  now  in  use  has  been  accurately  meas- 
ured. Precise  and  careful  estimates  have  been  made  of  that  capable  of 
development,  as  soon  as  there  is  a  demand  and  economic  conditions 


(372) 


Statement  by  Henry  B.  Kummel 


permit.     New  Jersey  has  taken  account  of  stock  in   this  as  in  other 
questions  relating  to  her  natural  resources. 

But  do  you  ask  me  what  we  have  done  with  our  knowledge?  I  say 
in  reply  that  we  have  put  it  to  practical  use.  Our  honored  President 
in  his  opening  address  to  this  Convention  called  your  attention  to  the 
words  of  Justice  Holmes,  of  the  Supreme  Court,  confirming  a  decision 
of  our  Court  that  the  People  of  our  State  had  the  ultimate  control  of 
the  waters  of  the  State.  Under  the  supervision  of  a  State  Commission 
provision  has  been  made  for  the  control,  conservation  and  distribution 
of  our  potable  waters  for  the  benefit  of  all:  Through  the  cooperation 
of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  plans  have  been  adopted  which  will 
necessitate  the  expenditure  of  seven  millions  of  the  State's  money  in  the 
construction  of  reservoirs  to  prevent  floods,  to  increase  our  water  powers, 
and  to  furnish  pure  water  to  our  people.  Under  another  State  Com- 
mission we  are  purifying  our  streams  and  correcting  the  errors  of  earlier 
years.  Forest  fires  have  been  very  largely  prevented  under  the  active 
work  of  our  efficient  system  of  fire  wardens,  and  the  young  forest  will 
hereafter  be  given  a  chance  for  its  life.  Private  owners  of  forest  lands 
have  been  interested,  and  effective  cooperation  between  individual  and 
State  established. 

Three  hundred  thousand  dollars  have  just  been  appropriated  for  the 
improvement  of  our  inland  waters  for  purposes  of  navigation.  You 
have  perhaps  all  heard  of  the  New  Jersey  mosquito.  Let  me  tell  you 
that  our  Legislature  has  authorized  the  expenditure  of  $350,000  for 
ditching  and  filling  our  marshlands  along  the  coast  to  exterminate 
this  pest.  Let  me  add  that  this  money  is  being  wisely  and  effectively 
spent;  that  the  mosquito  has  been  exterminated  in  the  regions  in  which 
this  work  has  been  done,  and  that  in  ten  years  the  mosquito  will  be  as 
rare  in  New  Jersey  as  the  buffalo  is  today  on  the  plains  of  Kansas  and 
Nebraska. 

Much  has  been  said  and  must  be  said  of  the  necessity  of  conserving 
our  national  resources.  New  Jersey  has  realized  this;  New  Jersey  is  real- 
izing it  in  increasing  measure  every  day;  New  Jersey  will  do  its  share. 


METHODS  FOR  CONSERVATION 
R.  O.  Richards 

OF   SOUTH    DAKOTA 

It  is  with  great  reluctance  that  I  venture  to  address  this  intellectually 
alert  and  august  body,  composed  of  picked  representatives  from  every 
State,  called  here  at  the  instance  of  the  President  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
ferring as  to  the  best  means  to  pursue  to  conserve  natural  resources,  that 

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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


is  by  promoting  the  prudent  use  and  by  directing  scientific  development 
in  utilization  of  everything  for  man's  well  being.  The  forethought  which 
prompted  the  Chief  Executive  to  call  this  Conference  augurs  well  for  the 
progress  of  civilization  and  the  culminating  destinies,  through  man's  own 
efforts,  intended  by  the  Supreme  Intelligence  back  of  this  Universe. 

The  subject  is  vast  in  magnitude  and  far-reaching  in  importance  and 
can,  in  point  of  details,  be  but  briefly  discussed  in  the  short  time  of  three 
days;  and  being  personally  an  optimist  and  only  interested  in  the  solution 
of  an  effective  remedy,  if  there  is  one,  I  shall  dwell  but  little  on  material 
details,  but  more  along  the  line  as  to  a  possible  remedy,  and  therefore 
shall  crave  your  indulgence  for  introducing  a  somewhat  foreign  subject 
in  my  remarks,  as  essential,  in  my  opinion,  to  any  possible  cure. 

The  natural  resources  are  best  comprehended  by  division  into  three 
groups — the  animate,  the  vegetable,  and  the  mineral.  These  three 
natural  resources  seem  to  rank  in  point  of  importance  to  life  in  the  order 
named;  the  two  former  are  in  themselves  self- renewing  through  the  laws 
of  natural  selection;  the  latter  only  partially  so,  through  man's  genius. 
It  would  seem  there  is  nothing  which  can  be  done  to  permanently  check 
waste  in  conservation  of  the  mineral  kingdom  unless  it  becomes  econom- 
ically practicable,  in  which  event  the  waste,  of  course,  is  stopped  because 
conservation  pays;  which  principle  underlying  our  civilization  acts 
automatically  and  will  in  time  develop  our  waterways  if  the  Government 
does  not  act.  However,  it  seems  quite  possible  that  before  the  mineral 
deposits  which  are  at  all  likely  of  exhaustion — for  instance,  oil  and  coal — 
become  scarce  that  the  genius  of  man  behind  the  laboratory  and  engineer- 
ing tables  will  furnish  us  heat,  light,  and  power  from  other  sources.  The 
conservation  and  betterment  of  the  animal  and  vegetable  kingdom  seem- 
ingly "little  referred  to  at  this  Conference  must  come  through  the  propaga- 
tion of  only  the  best  seed  and  through  scientific  selection  by  breeding, 
teaching,  and  planting  so  that  only  that  which  is  best  suited  to  promote 
man's  happiest  existence  is  perpetuated.  Thus  we  improve  upon  natural 
selection  and  follow  the  Scriptural  mandate  to  subdue  the  earth  until  we 
ultimately  make  our  civilization  complete  by  getting  the  law  of  environ- 
ment into  predominant  operation.  The  vegetable  kingdom  is  at  present 
well  conserved  and  improved,  though  there  has  seemingly  been  cause  of 
alarm  about  the  forests;  but  they  still  continue  to  grow  and  decay  as  they 
always  have  done.  Even  at  present  much  of  the  windfall  and  matured 
timber  decays  for  reason  of  not  being  cared  for  or  cut  at  maturity.  There 
is  a  time  to  harvest  timber,  the  same  as  grain,  before  it  spoils.  We  must 
remove  to  build  up,  hew  down  to  plant  anew,  and  in  proper  places. 

The  axe  can  be  made  to  trim  the  thicket  of  the  forest  and  cut  out  the 
crippled  shadeling  tree,  but  sentiment  and  the  mandate  "Thou  shalt  not 
kill"  precludes  anything  but  an  educational  remedy  as  to  man,  and  man 
again  controls   the   destinies  of  all   natural   resources.     The   lack   of  a 

(374) 


Statement  by  R.  O.  Richards 


thoroughly  organized  and  aggressive  effort  and  uniform  practical  teach- 
ings in  the  public  schools  leaves  defective  man  still  crowding  our  State 
institutions  and  flooding  our  cities,  a  charge  upon  society. 

With  18,000  insane,  defective,  and  delinquent  persons  in  institutions  of 
a  single  State,  creating  an  annual  expense  of  four  million  dollars  and  the 
necessity  of  building  a  new  asylum  for  housing  1,200  new  inmates  as  the 
natural  average  increase  every  fourth  year;  and  with  an  estimate  of  ten 
thousand  epileptics  in  the  homes  of  that  State,  and  with  75,000  daily 
rationed  whites  in  one  of  the  cities  of  this  same  Commonwealth  during 
the  months  of  January  and  February  this  year,  have  we  not  something 
besides  material  interests  to  conserve?     It  has  been  stated  with  great  con- 
cern that  our  coal  deposits  will  be  exhausted  in  200  years,  which'is  alarm- 
ing; but  how  will  the  fair  State  of  Illinois  at  the  present  ratio  of  increase 
of  defectives  look  to  our  descendants  two  hundred  years  hence  with  fifty 
additional  asylums  dotting  its  prairies?     Is  it  not  possible  that  our  chil- 
dren are  the  first  natural  resource,  requiring  our  most  careful  and  imme- 
diate attention  to  remedy  all  kinds  of  waste?     There  can  be  little  doubt 
but  what  better  paid  and  better  trained   teachers,    working  under  a 
merit  system  anchoring  education  along  certain  lines  in  the  primary 
grades  and  high  schools,  making  the  attendance  at  public  schools  com- 
pulsory for  everyone,  and  teaching  through  the  most  reliable  of  our  senses, 
the  sight,  by  the  introduction  of  the  kinetoscope  into  the  schools,  the 
fruit  of  vice  and  its  following  inheritance,  and  thus  indelibly  impressing 
the  minds  of  the  young,  and  by  teaching  ethics,  industry,  and  what 
goes  to  make  up  good  American  citizenship,  and  how  to  conserve  him- 
self and  his  natural  resources,  will  in  25  years  obliterate  the  present  tend- 
ency of  waste  in  all  things.     When  we  produce  as  nearly  as  possible,  as  a 
Nation,  on  an  average,  youths  well  trained,  rugged  morally,  mentally',  and 
physically,  and  capable  of  more  than  competing  with  the  citizens  of  any 
other  nation,  then  our  destinies  shall  be  fulfilled  and  copied  throughout 
the  world.     We  have  the  resources  at  present.     Why  not  make  a  special 
effort  to  conserve  Man  to  facilitate  his  own  destinies  through  coopera- 
tion of  Nation  and  State  in  educational  matters  generally? 

If  to  the  Inland  Waterways  Commission  and  the  Natural  Resource 
Conference  a  national  educational  commission  could  be  added  by  our 
thoroughly  good  and  great  Chief  Executive,  whose  business  it  might  be 
to  gather  data  on  educational  methods  from  every  State  and  Nation,  and 
compare  and  seek  to  detect  the  present  best  average  citizenship  as  the 
evidence  and  result  of  that  method  of  teaching,  and  report  its  information 
for  adoption  as  a  uniform  and  thorough  primary  education  for  the 
general  welfare  of  the  People,  to  every  State  educational  department  as 
a  matter  of  free  information,  we  would  accomplish  much.  We  would  then 
be  better  prepared  to  meet  the  future,  and  as  a  result  in  time  have  plenty 
of  means  in  each  State  to  develop  and  conserve  its  natural  resources  from 

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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


the  saving  in  appropriations  for  charitable  and  penal  institutions  now 
necessary. 

The  index  finger  on  the  dial  of  time,  dealing  with  the  constant  and 
inevitable  changes  of  conditions  in  the  social,  political,  industrial,  and 
economic,  now  seems  to  point  to  the  fact  that  we  are  drifting  toward  a 
cooperative  merit  system .     In  ascending  this  condition  let  us  be  extremely 
careful  in  acquiring  or  husbanding  any  unnecessary  natural  resources  or 
performing  any  unnecessary  individual  function  as  a  Government,  National 
or  State,  lest  we  build  a  float  for  the  selfish,  emotional,  and  ignorant 
visionaries  to  buoy  their  theories  upon.     I  have  in  mind  the  pernicious 
doctrines  which  would  make  it  appear  possible  to  promote  genuine  prog- 
ress or  to  receive  honest  reward  without  labor  in  this  world,  or  which 
absurdly  imply  that  statutory  law  will  change  human  nature,  create 
personal    energy,   morality,    happiness    and    intelligence,    and    lasting 
prosperity.     Permanent  social,  industrial,  and    economic  development 
does  not  and  can  not  come  about  by  enactment  of  statutory  law,  but 
can  only  come  through  education  and  individual  effort  by  development 
of  the  spiritual  and  physical  resources  at  our  service.     This  kind  of 
development  may  require  statutory  law  as  a  support  in  its  evolutionary 
growth,  and  such  law  may  serve  as  a  temporary  assistance  to  society 
till  the  new  conditions  outgrow  the  law  in  an  undisturbed  natural  way; 
but  to  those  who  constantly  advocate  law  as  a  remedy  let  me  say  that 
law  is  but  temporary  while  education  is  a  permanent  antidote  to  every- 
thing.    Let  us  study  and  improve  and  establish  a  uniform  practical 
standard  of  primary  education  and  practice  our  leader's  maxim,  "the 
square  deal,"  the  synonymous  expression  of  the  golden  rule,  and  we 
shall  in  a  short  time  act  unconsciously  above  the  law  and  in  non-conflict 
with  the  law  and  thereby  conserve  everything  for  the  happiest  existence 
of  every  man,  which  purpose  will  then  become  the  sole  object  in  working 
for  himself  along  patriotic  lines;  and  having  been  taught  to  curb  and 
harness  vanity  for  practical  purposes,  full  American  citizenship  will  be 
accomplished  and  the  future  of  the  Republic  will  be  bright  in  every  way. 


THE   IMMEDIATE   NECESSITY   FOR  ACQUIRING   THE   APPA- 
LACHIAN FOREST  RESERVE 

John  Allison 
chancellor  chancery  court,  nashville,  tennessee 

There  is  immediate  necessity  for  acquiring  and  preserving  the  remain- 
ing forests  in  the  proposed  Appalachian  Forest  Reserve. 

First.  As  a  necessary  means  for  protecting  and  preserving  for  the 
future  the  main  sources  of  the  water  supply  for  at  least  one  interstate 

(376) 


Statement  by  Chancellor  Allison 


navigable  river,  viz,  the  Tennessee,  and  to  "aid  to  the  navigability" 
of  the  Ohio. 

Second.  As  a  necessary  means  to  preserve  throughout  the  future  the 
existence  of  moisture  for  agricultural  purposes. 

Third.  As  a  necessary  means  for  preventing  the  destruction  of  homes, 
rich  bodies  of  agricultural  lands,  improvements,  live  stock,  and  grain  by 
great  and  sudden  floods. 

Fourth.  As  a  necessary  means  of  preserving  in  these  various  lesser 
streams  and  rivers  water  sufficient  to  furnish  power  to  operate  industrial 
and  manufacturing  plants  now  located  or  hereafter  located  on  them. 

If  the  first  proposition  be  successfully  maintained,  and  the  Government 
should  acquire  the  proposed  territory,  the  argument  need  not  proceed 
further;  for  when  acquired  to  serve  the  first  purpose  the  serving  of  the 
others  follow. 

The  Associated  Press  on  April  22,  1908,  sent  out  the  following  from 
Washington : 

[By  Associated  Press] 

Washington,  D.  C,  April  22. 
The  House  Judiciary  Committee  today  decided  as  unconstitutional  the  Lever- 
Currier  bill  appropriating  $5,000,000  for  the  acquisition  by  the  Government  forest 
lands  in  the  Appalachian  and  White  Mountain  chains  for  the  preservation  of  stream 
supply  and  the  regulation  of  stream  flow.  The  Committee,  however,  has  decided  by 
a  substantial  majority  to  report  to  the  House  that  if  forest  reserves  are  an  aid  to  the 
navigability  of  streams  the  acquirement  of  such  reserves  by  the  Government  is  con- 
stitutional. These  two  conclusions  are  to  be  formally  promulgated  at  an  adjourned 
meeting  to  be  held  later  today. 

From  this,  the  House  Judiciary  Committee  concedes  the  constitu- 
tionality of  the  pending  bill  if  the  acquisition  of  the  reserve  be  made  as 
"an  aid  to  the  navigability  of  streams,"  but  denies  the  constitutionality 
of  the  measure  if  to  be  made  "for  the  preservation  of  stream  supply  and 
the  regulation  of  stream  flow." 

"aid  to  the  navigability  of  streams" 

It  will  be  my  endeavor  to  show  that  the  acquisition  and  preservation 
of  the  forests  within  the  limits  of  the  proposed  reservation  will  not  only 
be  "an  aid  to  the  navigability  of  streams,"  but  a  necessity  to  preserve 
and  to  secure  to  future  generations  the  "navigability"  of  the  Ohio  and 
Tennessee  rivers,  and  then  to  show  that,  if  the  measure  had  no  other 
objects  in  view  than  "the  preservation  of  stream  supply  and  the  regula- 
tion of  stream  flow,"  it  would  nevertheless  be  within  the  powers  granted 
to  the  Congress  to  appropriate  and  expend  the  sum  required  to  acquire 
and  preserve  the  proposed  reservation. 


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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


CONDITIONS    AND    FACTS    PRIOR   TO    1 887 

A  few  well-established  determinative  facts,  bearing  upon  either  side 
of  any  controversy,  should  always  outweigh  theory  or  assertions. 

Almost  every  year,  sometimes  twice  and  thrice  each  year  for  a  period 
of  about  eighteen  years  prior  to  1887,  I  was  in  some  portion  of  that  part 
of  the  proposed  reservation  lying  between  Asheville,  North  Carolina,  and 
the  Virginia  State  line  (a  distance  of  about  seventy-five  miles) ,  frequently 
fishing  in  streams,  hunting  in  the  mountains,  and  occasionally  accom- 
panying, in  the  service  of  clients,  land  surveyors. 

During  this  period  I  had,  at  one  or  another  time  and  during  all  seasons, 
crossed  over  the  mountain  range  from  the  Tennessee  to  the  North  Caro- 
lina side  bv  way  of  every  road  or  bridle  trail  traveled  between  Asheville, 
North  Carolina,  and  the  Virginia  State  line;  and  later  I  visited  parts  of 
the  mountain  range  (lying  west  of  Asheville)  to  the  Georgia  State  line, 
which  is  within  the  limits  of  the  proposed  reservation. 

And  thus  I  acquired  and  had  during  the  period  mentioned  personal 
knowledge  of  hundreds  of  springs  and  hundreds  of  "streams"  and  of 
more  than  thirty  rivers  which  have  their  principal  sources  in  this  range 
of  mountains  from  the  southwestern  end  of  the  Blue  Ridge  in  the  State 
of  Georgia  to  the  Virginia  State  line. 

These  rivers,  which  flow  into  Tennessee  and  which  give  to  Tennessee 
river  at  least  five-sixths  of  its  volume  of  water  at  the  city  of  Chattanooga, 
are:  the  Ocoee,  Hiwassee,  Tellico,  Little  Tennessee,  Little  River,  Big 
Pigeon,  Little  Pigeon,  French  Broad,  Nolachucky,  Watauga,  Doe, 
North,  Middle  and  South  forks  of  the  Holston.  The  Clinch  and  Powell 
have  their  source,  as  does  the  North  and  Middle  forks  of  the  Holston,  in 
the  range  in  Southwestern  Virginia.  Some  of  the  other  rivers  which 
have  their  sources  within  this  range  are:  New  River,  its  sources  being 
in  North  Carolina  and  Virginia  on  the  sides  of  Grandfather  Mountain, 
the  base  of  this  mountain  being  in  three  states — Tennessee,  Virginia, 
and  North  Carolina. 

New  river  flows  due  north  to  where  it  forms  a  junction  with  the 
Greenbrier,  and  from  thence  it  is  the  great  Kanawha  until  it  flows  into 
the  Ohio  at  Gallipolis. 

The  Dan  has  its  source  on  the  sides  of  the  Grandfather  also,  but  it 
flows  due  eastward  to  a  junction  with  the  Staunton,  in  Virginia,  and 
from  thence  it  is  the  Roanoke,  continuing  eastward  until  a  short  distance 
from  the  coast,  when  it  turns  southward  into  Albemarle  Sound. 

The  Yadkin  (of  Daniel  Boone  fame)  rises  also  on  the  sides  of  the  Grand- 
father, but  parts  company  with  the  Dan  and  flows  due  south,  joining 
the  Great  Pedee  (whose  other  sources  are  in  this  Appalachian  Range). 
The  Watauga  has  its  head  springs  on  the  side  of  the  Grandfather  in  North 
Carolina,  but  leaves  the  Yadkin  to  go  on,  in  its  southward  course,  the 

(378) 


Statement  by  Chancellor  Allison 


Dan  on  its  eastward,  and  the  New  on  its  northward,  while  it  (Watauga) 
starts  due  westward;  four  considerable  rivers  flowing  from  the  Grand- 
father Mountain  toward  the  four  points  of  the  compass. 

Other  rivers  having  their  sources  in  this  range  (within  the  limits  of 
the  proposed  reserve),  and  flowing  out  through  North  and  South  Caro- 
lina and  Georgia,  are:  the  Great  Pedee,  Little  Pedee,  Waters,  Broad, 
Enoree,  Johns,  Tugaloo,  Savannah,  Chattahoochee,  Etowah,  Oostanaula, 
and  other  lesser  ones  not  necessary  to  mention. 

With  the  possible  exception  of  the  common  center  of  the  upper  sources 
of  the  Amazon,  the  Orinoco,  and  the  Plate  rivers  in  South  America,  it  is 
believed  that  no  other  area  of  like  size  in  the  world  is  the  source  of  as 
great  a  quantity  or  volume  of  surface  water  as  the  proposed  area  of  the 
Appalachian  Forest  Reserve;  and  this  surface  water,  unlike  that  in  South 
America,  flows  out  into  the  surrounding  States  to  the  four  points  of  the 
compass,  producing  and  communicating  moisture  in  the  many  valleys 
through  which  it  passes  to  hundreds  of  thousands  of  acres  of  valuable 
agricultural  lands  already  under  cultivation,  and  finally  making  navi- 
gable rivers. 

I  understand  from  the  Associated  Press  report  of  the  action  of  the 
House  Judiciary  Committee  on  the  pending  Appalachian  Forest  measure 
that  a  "substantial  majority"  of  the  Committee  was  of  opinion  that 
the  measure  would  be  constitutional  "if  forest  reserves  are  an  aid  to  the 
navigability  of  streams." 

Very  nearly  the  whole  number  of  streams,  great  and  small,  before  men- 
tioned as  having  their  sources  within  the  limits  of  the  proposed  reserve 
give  their  waters  into  interstate  navigable  rivers. 

The  Ohio  supplies  navigation  for  the  States  of  Pennsylvania,  West 
Virginia,  Ohio,  Indiana,  Mississippi,  and  Kentucky;  the  Roanoke  for  Vir- 
ginia and  North  Carolina;  the  Savannah  for  South  Carolina  and  Georgia. 
All  of  the  waters  coming  from  the  northwestern  summit  of  the  Appa- 
lachian Range  go  ultimately  through  Tennessee  and  Ohio  rivers  into 
the  Mississippi  near  Cairo;  and  they  make  up  nearly,  if  not  quite,  one- 
third  of  the  volume  of  water  leaving  Cairo  in  the  latter  river,  which 
from  thence  to  the  Gulf  supplies  navigable  water  to  the  States  of 
Missouri,  Tennessee,  Arkansas,  Mississippi,  and  Louisiana.  All  told, 
these  waters,  having  their  sources  within  the  limits  of  the  proposed 
reserve,  furnish  navigable  streams  to  the  citizens  of  seventeen  States,  or 
more  than  one-third  of  the  whole  number  of  States  in  the  Union. 

During  the  period  of  about  eighteen  years  prior  to  1887,  when  I  had 
personal  knowledge  of  conditions  in  the  Appalachian  Range  between 
Asheville,  North  Carolina,  and  the  Virginia  State  line,  the  range  from 
base  to  base  was  almost  an  unbroken  primeval  forest  of  giant  poplar, 
oaks,  walnut,  ash,  cherry,  chestnut,  beech,  etc. 


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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

The  ravines,  gorges,  hollows,  and  depressions  on  the  sides  of  the  dif- 
ferent spurs  of  the  range  had  lying  across  them  at  many  different  points 
trunks  of  fallen  and  decaying  trees,  also  great  limbs  and  banks  of  fallen 
leaves  and  much  undergrowth,  all  of  which  served  to  dam  up  and  hold 
back  the  water  from  heavy  rains  and  from  melting  snows  in  the  late 
springs  until  mother  earth  might  absorb  it  and  then  give  it  back  to  the 
surface  in  the  summer  time  through  the  hundreds  of  springs  on  and 
along  the  sides  and  base  of  the  ranges;  and  thus  nature  had  created 
many  reservoirs  in  the  mountains  in  which  first  to  store  great  quantities 
of  water  and  then  later  in  the  summer  to  filter  it  out  through  springs, 
clear,  pure,  and  cool,  thereby  preserving  during  the  summer  the  surface 
water  volume  for  the  streams  and  rivers  in  the  valleys. 

CHANGED   CONDITIONS 

After  an  absence  of  nearly  twenty  years,  I  revisited  some  parts  and 
some  of  the  streams  of  the  range.  My  visit  was  made  in  the  summer 
season.  I  remember  it  well,  for  it  was  the  summer  when  he  of  "  Bigstick  " 
newspaper  notoriety  filled  the  whole  earth  with  his  fame  as  a  peacemaker 
by  bringing  Russia  and  Japan  to  terms. 

In  this  visit  I  found  conditions  very  materially  changed.  Considerable 
areas  near  the  base  of  low  ranges  had  been  entirely  denuded  or  cleared 
of  all  timber  growths  and  put  under  cultivation  in  grass,  etc.,  and  other 
considerable  areas  of  the  mountain  sides  and  in  the  ravines,  hollows,  etc., 
likewise  stripped  of  the  forests,  and  last,  but  not  least,  the  reservoirs 
described  had  been  destroyed  by  the  opening  up  of  logging  wagon  roads 
that  the  wagons  might  pass  up  after  and  then  come  back  down  with  the 
logs  and  lumber.  These  roadways  serve  now  as  a  "chute  the  chute" 
for  the  heavy  rainfall  to  rush  down  and  flood  the  streams.  The  whole 
appearance  of  the  face  of  things  had  undergone  a  change. 

I  found  dry  holes  in  the  earth  where  to  my  own  knowledge  springs  had 
previously  existed,  and  necessarily  found  "dry  creek"  beds;  further- 
more, it  was  as  perceptible  to  my  eye  that  the  volume  of  water  in  some 
of  the  larger  streams  and  little  rivers  was  very  much  less  than  twenty 
years  before  that  time,  as  it  was  plain  to  my  vision  that  much  of  the 
forest  had  been  removed  and  wagon  roads  made  where  nature's  reservoirs 
had  once  existed. 

In  all  the  years  preceding  1898  Tennessee  river  did  not  at  any  time 
reach  a  stage  below  zero  on  the  gauge  at  Chattanooga,  and  only  twice 
did  it  reach  a  low-water  stage  of  less  than  one  foot  above  zero,  whereas 
for  the  ten  years  following  1898  it  was  four  times  at  a  stage  of  less  than 
one  foot  above  zero,  and  on  October  25,  26,  27,  1904,  it  was  at  the  lowest 
stages  in  its  history — nine  one-hundredths  of  a  foot  below  zero — and 
navigable  this  year  only  210  days,  the  year  following  240  days,  which  is  the 

(380) 


Statement  by  Chancellor  Allison 


latest  data  I  have.  Prior  to  1890  the  Tennessee  was  navigable  at  Chatta- 
nooga an  average  of  more  than  300  days  in  each  year.  The  Ohio  does 
not  seem  to  have  suffered  loss  in  late  years  in  its  volume  of  summer  and 
fall  water,  at  least  not  so  much  as  the  Tennessee. 

If  Congress  has  power  under  the  Constitution  to  expend  money  in 
erecting  great  dams  for  the  purpose  of  collecting  a  body  of  water,  and 
then  in  making  tunnels  and  canals  to  carry  the  water  from  this  body  out 
into  arid  or  desert  lands  for  the  purpose  of  producing  moisture  for  agri- 
cultural purposes  where  it  does  not  exist,  then,  by  what  process  of 
reasoning  can  it  be  maintained  that  Congress  may  not  under  the  same 
Constitution  expend  money  to  protect  the  sources  of  streams  already 
supplying  moisture  for  agricultural  purposes? 

I  would  be  glad  to  hear  or  read  the  argument  maintaining  that  such 
power  does  exist  for  the  one  purpose  and  denying  its  existence  for  the  other. 

I  maintain  that  if  such  power  be  vested  in  Congress  for  either  of  such 
purposes  it  exists  also  for  the  other,  and  that  the  Congress  having  already 
exercised  this  power  in  the  expenditures  made  in  the  Reclamation  Serv- 
ice, it  can  not  now  consistently  deny  the  existence  of  such  power  for  the 
purpose  of  preserving  the  existence  of  moisture,  as  well  as  for  the  pur- 
pose of  producing  moisture,  for  agricultural  purposes. 

Who  does  not  know  that  moisture  is  supplied  and  communicated  in 
the  summer  season  to  agricultural  lands  lying  along  the  sides  of  perennial 
creeks,  brooks,  or  streams  and  rivers?  And  who  does  not  know  that 
when  such  streams  "dry  up,"  the  moisture  will  "dry  up"  likewise? 

These  expenditures  by  the  Government  in  the  Reclamation  Service  are 
being  made  with  the  view  or  sole  purpose  of  making  habitable  arid  or 
desert  lands — that  is,  making  homes  for  its  citizens,  and  not  as  "an  aid 
to  the  navigability  of  streams." 

If  the  Government  may  constitutionally  expend  large  sums  of  money 
to  make  homes  (out  of  such  lands)  for  some  part  of  its  citizens  (say 
14,000),  may  it  not  also  spend  money  to  protect  and  preserve  from 
destruction  by  great  floods  the  homes  of  other  thousands — homes 
already  made  and  occupied? 

I  would  like  to  hear  or  read  the  reasoning  and  argument  that  concedes 
the  right  and  power  in  the  Government  under  the  Constitution  to  do  the 
one  and  denies  its  existence  for  doing  the  other. 

The  Statistician  of  the  Reclamation  Service  has  pointed  out  that 
$36,665, 570  have  already  been  expended,  which  hasfurnished  landas  homes 
for  14,000  citizens,  a  cost  of  about  $2,190  to  each  man,  woman,  or  child 
of  the  14,000  already  provided  with  and  settled  on  homes  thus  made. 

I  am  not  complaining  at  the  cost,  for  every  time  the  Government 
makes  a  home-owner  it  also  makes  a  patriot. 


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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


I  do  not  mean  it  to  be  understood  that  none  but  home-owners  are 
patriots.  I  do  believe,  however,  that  home-owners  and  their  sons  will 
fight  for  their  homes  with  more  zest  than  they  would  for  a  rented  home. 
So  let  the  good  work  of  making  home-owners  at  the  cost  of  $2,190  for 
each  member  of  the  family  continue;  but  should  not  the  Government 
protect  and  preserve  homes  already  made  and  occupied? 

DESTRUCTION    OF    SOIL    AND    HOMES — A    "PRESERVATION    SERVICE" 

The  gradual  inundation  in  the  early  spring-time  of  the  low  or  "river- 
bottom"  lands,  of  which  there  are  many  thousands  of  acres  along  the 
rivers  not  navigable  which  flow  out  of  the  proposed  reserve,  is  neither 
hurtful  to  the  soil  nor  harmful  to  the  crops  that  are  "pitched"  later, 
but,  in  fact,  helpful  to  both;  the  alluvium  thus  deposited  enriches  the 
soil,  while  the  moisture  which  has  gone  down  deep  into  the  earth  remains 
(to  produce  crops)  after  the  overflow  has  receded,  just  as  does  moisture 
remain  in  the  soil  which  has  been  overflowed  by  water  carried  out 
through  the  artificial  irrigating  ditches  or  channels  made  and  being  made 
by  the  Government  in  the  arid  and  desert  lands. 

The  ruin  and  utter  destruction  of  lands  and  improvements  thereon  or 
along  the  same  rivers,  caused  by  sudden  and  great  floods,  is  common 
knowledge. 

Such  floods  are  most  destructive  near  the  base  of  the  mountain  range, 
where  the  valleys  are  the  narrowest.  The  volume  of  the  flood  water 
overflows  the  banks  as  it  flows  on  down,  and  its  current  or  destructive 
force  is  thus  weakened  so  that  it  does  but  little  injury. 

The  injury,  however,  worked  to  the  home-owners  in  the  narrow  valleys 
along  these  rivers  has  been  enormous  and  irreparable.  Not  only  their 
homes,  barns,  fences,  implements,  all  improvements,  have  been  swept 
away,  but  much  of  the  soil  itself  carried  off,  the  currents  of  the  flood-tide 
cutting  deep  channels  through  fields  and  farms  and  entirely  covering 
over  what  is  left  with  rock,  gravel,  and  sand,  rendering  it  worthless;  and 
where  there  were  one  day  happy  homes,  with  plenty,  there  was  the  next 
day  desolation  and  poverty. 

In  the  spring  season  of  1901  one  of  the  most  destructive  of  these  sudden 
floods  within  the  memory  of  the  oldest  citizens  occurred  in  each  one  of 
the  twelve  rivers  that  come  out  of  the  Appalachian  Range  into  the  eastern 
division  of  Tennessee. 

In  this  section  of  the  State  houses,  barns,  fencing,  gristmills,  saw- 
mills, small  and  large  manufacturing  plants,  railroad  bridges,  wagon- 
road  bridges,  etc.,  were  demolished  and  the  wreckage  carried  away  like 
chaff  before  the  wind;  in  the  aggregate  nearly  a  sufficient  number  of 
acres  of  the  most  fertile  lands  to  furnish  homes  for  the  14,000  who  have 
settled  on  the  irrigated  deserts  were  practically  rendered  worthless. 

(382) 


Statement  by  Chancellor  Allison 


A  friend  of  mine  writing  me  (a  day  or  so  afterward)  from  Elizabethton, 
a  little  city,  the  county  seat  of  Carter,  on  Doe  river,  describing  that 
flood  in  its  approach  on  the  town,  said: 

It  was  the  wildest,  wickedest,  most  appalling  looking  wave  of  destruction  I  ever 
beheld;  it  rolled  down  the  valley  toward  the  town  in  a  wall,  roaring  like  thunder,  and 
on  its  crest  rolled  and  tumbled  houses,  barns,  furniture,  farm  implements,  wagons, 
fence  rails,  live  stock,  etc.  It  spread  out  as  it  approached  the  town,  as  the  little  valley 
widened,  but  a  current  several  feet  deep  condemned  a  right  of  way  down  Main  Street, 
flooding  residences  and  business  houses,  causing  incalculable  damage. 

This  letter  was  written  by  a  cool-headed  truthful  gentleman. 

If  this  range  of  mountains  be  stripped  of  the  remaining  forest  and  its 
incidents,  much  of  these  valleys  will  thereafter  not  be  habitable. 

If  the  Government  may  lawfully  expend  money  to  make  lands  habit- 
able, may  it  not  also  expend  money  to  keep  lands  habitable  already 
inhabited?  What  process  of  sound  reasoning  may  be  used  which  will 
justify  the  use  of  public  funds  for  the  one  and  yet  deny  it  for  the  other 
purpose? 

The  Government  Forest  Service  has  lately  published  a  report  entitled : 
'The  Relation  of  the  Southern  Appalachian  Mountains  to  the  Develop- 
ment of  Water  Power,"  in  which  the  present  available  power  of  this 
water  is  estimated  to  be  1,400,000  horsepower,  the  present  value  of 
which,  at  the  usual  estimate  of  twenty  dollars  per  horsepower  per 
annum,  is  $28,000,000  per  annum. 

Is  it  worth  saving  for  the  present  and  the  future? 

cost — value 

It  may  be  asked,  how  much  will  it  cost?  I  answer,  I  do  not  know,  for  I 
have  not  inquired  the  probable  cost  of  the  about  seven  million  acres 
within  the  proposed  limits  of  the  contemplated  reserve.  I  venture  to 
express  the  belief,  however,  that  if  there  was  any  known  method  or 
standard  by  which  we  could  estimate  the  approximate  present  and  future 
value  of  the  remaining  forest,  the  value  of  the  surface  water  supply  for 
agricultural,  manufacturing,  and  navigable  purposes,  its  cost,  as  com- 
pared with  its  value  in  these  respects,  would  not  be  as  one  to  a  hundred; 
no,  not  as  one  to  a  thousand. 


(383) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


WHAT  WASHINGTON  AS  A  STATE  HAS  DONE  AND  CAN  DO 

FOR  FOREST  CONSERVATION 

Frank  H.  Lamb 

WASHINGTON-  STATE   FOREST   COMMISSION 

Nowhere  else  has  lumber  been  so  potent  a  factor  in  development  as 
in  the  United  States.  Our  millions  of  homes,  the  humble  though  com- 
fortable cottages  of  the  workman,  the  more  pretentious  residences  of  the 
well-to-do,  the  mansions  of  the  wealthy,  the  countless  manufacturing 
establishments,  the  vast  engineering  works,  more  than  200  thousand 
miles  of  railroads,  and  all  that  goes  to  make  up  our  modern  civilization, 
have  been  rendered  possible  by  an  abundant  and  moderate-priced  supply 
of  lumber.  The  absolute  necessity  of  maintaining  this  supply  commen- 
surate with  our  growing  demands  is  apparent,  if  our  National  develop- 
ment is  to  continue. 

A  grave  question  now  before  the  Nation  is  the  proper  assimilation  of 
our  heterogeneous  population.  Our  urban  conditions  are  not  conducive 
to  the  future  security  of  the  Nation.  More  of  our  population  must  be 
placed  upon  the  land.  The  strength  of  a  Nation  is  in  its  homes.  The 
smallest  country  village  is  more  of  a  bulwark  of  patriotism  and  real 
Americanism  than  the  whole  of  the  East  side  of  Manhattan  Island.  If 
lumber  becomes  so  expensive  as  to  rank  in  cost  with  steel,  concrete,  and 
stone,  we  will  have  far  greater  congestion  in  the  tenements  of  our  cities. 
The  neat  frame  cottages  of  our  agricultural  sections  will  be  replaced  by 
mud  and  thatch  huts.  Improvements  that  would  pay  dividends,  if  they 
could  be  constructed  of  lumber,  must  wait  until  they  warrant  the  use  of  a 
more  expensive  material. 

The  various  substitutes  for  lumber  have  not  decreased  the  per  capita 
consumption,  which  shows  a  constant  gain  from  the  342  feet  b.  m. 
required  in  1870  to  449  feet  in  1906.  The  value  of  lumber  has  been 
rapidly  increasing.  From  an  average  value  at  the  mills  of  $11.39  Per 
thousand  in  1890  it  rose  to  $16.60  in  1906.  Add  to  this  the  additional 
transportation  charges,  from  the  fact  that  today  the  bulk  of  our  lumber 
is  obtained  from  the  South  and  Pacific  Northwest,  and  the  average  value 
of  lumber  throughout  the  country  has  more  than  doubled  since  1890. 
This  is  shown  in  the  case  of  Buffalo,  where  white  pine  worth  $18  in 
1862  is  now  valued  at  $90. 

According  to  population  we  consume  nine  times  as  much  lumber  as 
Germany  and  nearly  twenty-five  times  as  much  as  England.  Prosperous 
villages  dot  the  plains;  the  railroad  penetrates  many  a  remote  corner  of 

(384) 


Statement  by  Frank  H.  Lamb 


our  Nation;  our  frontier  localities  have  ten  times  the  comforts  and 
luxuries  of  civilization  because  our  lumber  supply  has  been  unlimited  in 
the  past,  and  in  cost  within  reach  of  every  one. 

Our  future  necessities  will  be  greater  than  our  past  requirements.  In 
1906  the  United  States  manufactured  approximately  40,000,000,000  feet 
of  sawn  lumber,  not  counting  shingles,  posts,  piles,  poles,  miscellaneous 
wooden-ware  and  our  fuel  and  pulp  wood  requirements.  Within  a 
decade  our  railroads  must  be  doubled  in  mileage  to  keep  track  with  our 
other  development.  It  would  require  100,000,000,000  feet  to  duplicate 
them  as  they  exist  today,  and  it  now  takes  over  30%  of  our  entire  cut 
or  12,000,000,000  feet  annually  for  ordinary  repairs  and  extensions. 
Shall  we  sacrifice  our  $72,000,000  of  forest  products  exported  in  1906  and 
become  a  lumber-importing  instead  of  a  lumber-exporting  Nation?  These 
are  a  few  of  the  questions  that  depend  on  the  maintenance  of  our 
timber  supplies  sufficient  to  meet  not  only  the  demands  of  the  present 
but  those  of  the  future ;  and  I  shall  consider  the  facts  as  they  relate  more 
particularly  to  the  State  of  Washington. 

Western  Washington  has  the  heaviest  and  most  uniform  stand  of  tim- 
ber in  the  world.  It  is  primarily  a  forest-growing  region;  climate,  soil 
and  precipitation  all  are  conducive  to  forest  growth,  but  generally  unfav- 
orable to  agriculture.  If  the  timber  was  removed,  not  over  25%  of  its 
area  would  have  any  possible  value.  About  30%  of  the  area  of  the  State, 
or  less  than  10,000,000  acres,  can  be  classed  as  land  adapted  to  forest 
growing.  Originally  we  had  about  300,000,000,000  feet  of  standing  tim- 
ber in  the  State;  50,000,000,000  feet  has  been  lumbered,  about  the 
same  burned,  leaving  us  about  200,000,000,000  feet  remaining.  This 
estimate  might  be  increased  by  closer  manufacturing  to  300,000,000,000. 

The  lumber  industry  of  Washington  has  witnessed  a  most  wonderful 
development;  beginning  soon  after  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California, 
its  growth  was  slow  until  1880,  when  new  markets  were  opened  in  the 
Orient  and  the  completion  of  the  Pacific  Railroads  opened  the  East  to 
our  high-grade  and  special  products. 

As  long  as  the  supplies  of  the  Middle  West  were  adequate  to  the 
country's  need,  the  development  was  gradual,  but  since  1899  the  cut  of 
the  white  pine  States  has  decreased  nearly  50%.  This  has  been  made 
up  by  the  South  and  Pacific  Northwest.  In  i860  New  York  and  Maine 
were  the  greatest  lumber  producing  States.  In  1870  Michigan  was  far 
in  the  lead,  Pennsylvania,  New  York,  and  Wisconsin  following.  Michi- 
gan maintained  her  supremacy  through  1880  and  1890;  Wisconsin  in 
the  mean  time  surpassing  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  and  in  1890 
taking  the  lead,  to  be  in  turn  surpassed  by  Washington  and  Louisiana 
in  1906.     Nearly  every  twenty  years,  therefore,  has  witnessed  the  chief 


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Proceeding  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


lumber  supply  shifting  to  another  great  geographical  subdivision  of  the 
country.  In' i860  the  Northeast  was  the  principal  producer;  in  1880 
the  Lake  Region;  in  1906  the  South,  and  1915  will  see  the  Pacific  Coast 

the  chief  supplv. 

Looking  forward  only  a  few  brief  years,  will  not  the  Pacific  Northwest 
repeat  the  history  of  the  other  regions?  Washington,  now  cutting  over 
4  billion  feet,  will  doubtless  double  her  production  by  1 910.  At  that  rate 
our  supplies  would  last  from  25  to  35  years,  but  who  can  estimate  the 
future?  Whatever  it  may  hold  for  us  is  it  not  time  to  consider  if  some 
steps  can  not  be  taken  to  prevent  the  inevitable  depletion  of  the  Nation's 

last  stand  of  timber? 

We  have  in  Washington  three  classes  of  ownership — the  national  for- 
ests, State  lands,  corporation  and  private  holdings.  So  far  as  the 
12,065,500  acres  of  national  forests  lying  within  Washington  are  con- 
cerned, we  can  rest  assured  that  the  object  for  which  they  were  created, 
"the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest  number,  the  future  welfare  of  the 
forest  considered,"  will  be  carried  out  so  long  as  the  sentiment  of  the 
People  remains  as  it  is  today.  Of  the  142,000,000  acres  comprised  in  all 
the  national  forests,  certainly  much  less  than  50%  of  the  area  can  ever 
be  classed  as  forest  or  forest  producing  lands.  From  the  experience 
of  European  nations  we  are  safe  to  assume  that  if  these  lands  were  placed 
under  the  best  possible  forest  management  they  would  only  produce  an 
annual  increment  of  about  300  feet  b.  m.  per  acre;  this  would  amount 
to  13,000,000,000  feet  annually,  or  less  than  one-third  of  our  present 
lumber  consumption.  Therefore,  the  national  forests  alone  are  not 
adequate  to  maintain  indefinitely  our  forest  resources. 

Unquestionably  the  several  States  have  a  duty  toward  our  forests  that 
should  not  be  shunned.  Some  States  have  assumed  the  responsibility 
even  to  the  purchase  of  large  tracts  of  land  from  private  owners.  It  is 
the  opportunity  of  the  State  of  Washington  to  assume  its  burdens  on  an 
easy  and  practical  basis. 

Congress  through  its  liberality  granted  to  the  State  of  Washington, 
for  educational  and  other  public  institutions,  about  3,000,000  acres  of 
land.  The  State  has  sold  approximately  1,300,000  acres,  realizing 
therefrom  nearly  $7,000,000,  and  still  retains  1,700,000  acres.  Of  these 
lands  about  800,000  acres  are  adapted  primarily  for  forest  growing  or 
else  is  covered  by  virgin  timber.  As  a  State  we  have  been  true  to  our 
stewardship.  Our  State  ownership  in  timber  is  worth  today  probably 
$20,000,000.  We  are  selling  timber  lands  only  as  needed  in  logging 
operations  for  fair  prices.  But  the  State  should  go  further  in  the  adop- 
tion of  a  definite  forest  management  of  its  timber  lands.  They  should 
be  segregated  from  the  agricultural  lands,  appraised  as  to  value,  the  tim- 
ber sold  only  as  actually  needed  and  then  under  conditions  that  will 

(386) 


Statement  by  Frank  H.  Lamb 


assure  a  future  growth  of  timber.     Natural  reproduction  should  be  encour- 
aged, and  timber  not  removed  properly  protected. 

The  natural  reproduction  of  Washington  forests  varies  according  to 
locality.  Fir,  spruce,  cedar,  hemlock,  our  principal  timbers,  are  pro- 
duced each  on  different  classes  of  soil  and  under  different  conditions. 
In  many  cases  it  is  spontaneous,  in  others  special  preparations  are 
required.  In  any  event  all  efforts  in  this  direction  are  dependent  upon 
the  adequate  protection  of  our  timber  lands  from  fires. 

The  destruction  of  the  growth  of  centuries  by  the  forest  fire  of  a  day, 
without  any  effort  at  prevention,  is  a  pitiful  commentary  on  our  national 
foresight.  But  far  more  serious  than  this  is  the  constantly  recurring 
fires  that  overrun  our  cut-over  lands,  causing  small  present  financial 
losses  but  absolutely  prohibiting  the  possibility  of  a  future  crop  of  timber 
on  lands  otherwise  useless.  Each  year  thousands  of  acres  of  young  grow- 
ing timber  seeded  naturally  for  the  benefit  of  our  successors  are  destroyed, 
until  finally  Nature,  weary  and  disheartened,  gives  up  the  struggle  and 
only  an  expanse  of  charred  stumps  and  eroded  side  hills  covered  with 
worthless  brush  marks  the  site  of  what  might  have  been  a  future 
forest. 

The  Forest  Service  has  accomplished  much  in  the  protection  of  the 
national  forests  from  fire  and  the  State  of  Washington,  gaining  a  lesson 
from  the  great  fires  of  1902,  when  millions  of  dollars  of  standing  timber, 
many  homes  and  lives,  were  destroyed,  has  taken  active  steps  to  prevent 
a  repetition  of  such  conditions. 

In  1903  a  Forest  Fire  Law  was  passed  providing  penalties  for  careless- 
ness and  willful  setting  of  fires.  In  1905  a  State  Forest  Commission,  a 
State  Forester  and  deputies  in  each  county  were  provided  for.  In  the 
three  years  1905,  1906  and  1907  over  $28,000  has  been  expended  by  the 
Commission,  of  which  over  $11,000  was  contributed  by  private  owners 
of  timber.  As  to  the  results,  it  is  impossible  to  give  any  values  in  dollars 
and  cents.  The  loss  in  the  three  years  from  forest  fires,  as  reported,  has 
been  1,654  fires,  burning  over  128,000  acres,  causing  damage  of  less  than 
$400,000;  6,500  permits  for  burning  slashings  were  issued  and  the  burn- 
ing supervised  by  deputies  to  prevent  loss  to  adjacent  timber.  As  a 
State,  we  are  satisfied  with  the  results  and  doubtless  future  legislatures 
will  appropriate  liberally  toward  the  work,  the  last  appropriation,  that 
of  1907,  being  $26,000.  Offenders  of  the  law  have  been  punished  and 
the  moral  effect  alone  has  more  than  justified  the  money  expended.  We 
have  posted  warning  notices  in  every  public  place,  beside  roads  and 
trails,  and  have  educated  the  people  to  the  fact  that  the  timber  has  a 
public  value  far  greater  than  its  value  to  the  stumpage  owner. 

If  we  have  200,000,000,000  feet  of  standing  timber  it  is  worth  today  to 
the  owner  an  average  of  $1.50  per  thousand,  or  $300,000,000.     If  mar- 

(387) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


keted,  there  would  be  paid,  mainly  to  the  citizens  of  the  State,  for  labor 
and  materials  approximately  the  following: 

For  logging  and  log  transportation,  @  $5  per  M $1 ,  ooo,  000, 000 

For  manufacture,  @  $4  per  M 800,000,000 

For  transportation  to  market,  @  $7  per  M -      1,400,000,000 

Total 3.  200,000,000 

as  against  the  paltry  interest  of  the  stumpage  owners  of  only  $300,000,000. 

Our  private  owners  are  awake  to  the  necessity  of  forest  fire  protection; 
besides  contributing  to  the  aid  of  the  State's  work,  over  $25,000  has 
been  expended  annually  by  the  larger  corporations. 

The  Washington  Forest  Fire  Association  has  been  organized  and  its 
members  assessed  1  cent  per  acre  on  their  holdings.  This  will  maintain 
over  100  men  in  the  forests  during  the  dangerous  months.  Therefore 
I  am  pleased  to  report  that  the  State  of  Washington  has  taken  a  very 
advanced  position  in  forest  fire  protection. 

With  the  cooperation  of  the  Forest  Service,  the  State,  and  the  timber 
owners,  we  expect  to  protect  Washington's  forests  to  an  extent  unknown 
in  any  other  State  of  the  Union.  Burned  and  charred  stumps  will  never 
contribute  toward  the  building  of  a  great  Commonwealth. 

We  could  not  reproduce  our  forests  in  150  years,  and  then  only  at  a 
vast  expense  of  effort  and  money;  but,  I  think,  even  with  proper  fire 
protection  I  have  shown  that  these  virgin  forests  will  supply  our  de- 
mands only  for  a  relatively  short  period.  Beyond  that,  if  the  State  is  to 
maintain  its  prestige  it  must  encourage  a  reproduction  of  cut-over  lands. 
The  adoption  by  the  State  of  such  a  policy  will  encourage  private  owners 
in  the  same  direction. 

Our  knowledge  of  forest  growth  is  so  limited  that  no  business  man  can 
estimate,  even  roughly,  his  probable  future  returns.  We  need  figures 
as  to  annual  increment  under  different  conditions.  We  must  be  shown 
how  to  provide  for  a  natural  reproduction,  and  how  to  protect  young 
growth  in  lumbering;  but  we  need,  above  all  things,  to  find  some  method 
by  which,  without  interfering  with  vested  rights,  we  can  prevent  a  por- 
tion at  least  of  the  enormous  waste  of  our  lumbering  operations.  Of 
every  acre  cut  in  Washington  about  35%  of  its  material  reaches  a  mar- 
ket. A  large  part  is  left  in  the  woods  to  decay  or  to  add  fuel  to  some 
future  forest  fire.  Another  large  portion  finds  its  way  into  the  saw  mill 
burner,  being  of  so  little  value  as  not  to  repay  manufacture  and  trans- 
portation to  a  market.  Anything  that  will  decrease  the  percentage  of 
waste  will  not  only  return  millions  of  dollars  to  our  people  but  will  enable 
our  timber  resources  to  meet  the  demands  for  a  longer  period. 

The  average  value  of  a  thousand  feet  of  Washington  lumber  in  Chi- 
cago is  $25,  of  which  the  value  at  the  mill  is  $10  and  freight  transporta- 
tion $15. 

(388) 


Statement  by  Frank  H.  Lamb 


The  life  and  existence  of  the  lumber  industry  of  the  Pacific  Northwest 
is  absolutely  dependent  upon  freight  rates.  Recognizing  that  the  rail- 
roads are  entitled  to  just  returns  upon  actual  capital  invested,  the  lum- 
bermen insist  upon  the  right  of  adjustment  of  rates  before  a  proper 
tribunal.  We  can  better  afford  to  give  up  to  private  operation  our  post 
office,  our  matters  of  taxation,  in  fact  any  of  the  governmental  functions 
that  touch  us  financially,  rather  than  to  forego  the  right  to  be  heard  in 
the  adjustment  of  freight  rates. 

There  is  enough  forest  material  wasted  annually  in  Washington  to 
supply  10  million  people  with  the  requirements  for  lumber  and  fuel,  but 
it  will  not  repay  transportation  to  market.  A  small  reduction  in  freight 
rates  will  send  thousands  of  cars  of  this  wasted  material  in  the  form  of 
lath,  pickets  and  cheaper  grades  of  lumber  to  sections  where  it  is  badly 
needed.  A  slight  increase  in  our  present  rates  will  still  further  increase 
our  percentage  of  waste.  No  governmental  policy  can  change  these 
facts.  For  these  reasons  we  are  vitally  interested  in  the  completion  of 
the  Panama  canal  and  the  improvement  of  waterways  in  general.  If 
rail  transportation  is  as  low  as  is  consistent  with  adequate  dividends, 
perhaps  water  transportation  may  prove  in  some  cases  cheaper. 

We  need  improvements  to  harbors  and  waterways.  From  Govern- 
ment reports  the  average  price  of  stumpage  on  Puget  Sound  is  $1.75; 
on  the  western  coast  of  Oregon,  $1.05,  a  difference  of  70  cents  per 
thousand,  due  entirely  to  lack  of  transportation  facilities.  The 
irrigation  of  the  arid  regions  lying  just  over  the  mountains  will  utilize 
much  low-grade  lumber  now  wasted.  All  these  improvements  tend  to 
increase  the  value  of  our  timber  and  draw  nearer  the  time  when  our 
lumbermen  will  be  able  to  realize  benefits  that  will  accrue  through  some 
other  policy  than  the  reckless  waste  of  the  present.  Before,  however, 
we  can  ever  as  private  individuals  hold  land  a's  a  future  producer  of  a 
forest  crop  our  policy  of  forest  taxation  must  be  changed.  A  crop  that 
has  only  one  harvest  in  a  century  can  not  pay  annual  taxes  of  from  3% 
to  4%  of  its  value.  The  present  practice  of  forest  taxation  places  a 
heavy  premium  upon  the  immediate  conversion  of  standing  timber 
into  lumber.  A  better  plan  would  be  a  nominal  yearly  tax  and  a  royalty 
tax  upon  the  timber  when  harvested. 

It  is  time  we  should  consider  our  virgin  forests  as  the  result  of  long 
centuries  of  growth  and  development — a  heritage  to  be  handed  in  part 
to  posterity  and  not  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  adventurers  who  have  no 
thought  but  their  exploitation  for  immediate  personal  profit. 

I  hope  that  I  have  proven  that  their  days  are  numbered,  that  the  hour 
glass  is  inverted.  As  surely  as  the  grains  of  sand  will  seek  the  lower 
level,  so  certainly  is  the  day  coming  when  these  forests,  now  the  wonder 
and  admiration  of  the  world,  the  Nation's  last  reserve  stock  of  timber, 


(389) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


will  be  but  a  memory  of  the  past ;  when  the  reverberating  sound  of  the 
wielded  axe  and  the  roar  of  logging  engines  will  cease  to  waken  the  once 
sylvan  solitudes;  when  the  smokestacks  of  a  thousand  mills,  their  days 
of  usefulness  past,  their  machinery  gone  to  ruin,  their  thousands  of  busy 
laborers  forced  to  other  fields,  will  stand  desolately  forlorn,  grim  monu- 
ments of  a  past  commercial  era  and  a  perpetual  testimony  to  the  heedless 
disregard  for  nature's  treasures  on  the  part  of  her  servants.  This  ques- 
tion does  not  concern  Washington  any  more  than  it  concerns  every 
other  State  and  the  Nation  at  large.  When  the  forests  of  the  Pacific 
are  gone,  where  will  be  found  the  bountiful  supply  of  timber  to  supply 
our  National  needs? 

Whatever  has  been  done  to  conserve  our  forests  has  been  done  by 
Executive  proclamation;  Congress  has  done  nothing  and  will  do  noth- 
ing until  an  aroused  public  opinion  forces  its  members  to  forget  their 
own  selfish  interests,  their  business  associates,  their  clamorous  constit- 
uents who  are  looking  for  the  Nation  to  give  them  160  acres  of  timber 
or  some  other  contribution  from  the  national  resources  that  belong  not 
to  any  one  State  or  locality,  but  equally  to  every  citizen  of  the  Nation. 
The  homesteader  who  makes  two  spears  of  grass  grow  where  one  grew 
before  is  entitled  to  encouragement  to  the  extent  of  free  land,  but  under 
our  land  laws  the  lottery-like  disposition  of  our  resources  has  only  bred 
a  species  of  subsidy-seeking,  graft-encouraging,  perjury-promoting  public 
spirit  that  has  pervaded  every  department  of  our  public  life. 

Shall  we  see  our  children  stripped  of  everything  provided  by  a  wise 
Providence  for  the  sustenance  of  untold  generations?  The  earth  does 
not  belong  entirely  to  the  present.     Posterity  has  its  claims. 


FOREST  CONSERVATION 
Hu  Maxwell 

OF  WEST   VIRGINIA 

Ten  million  acres  of  forest  cover  the  West  Virginia  hills.     Indispen- 
sable as  those  forests  are  for  the  growing  of  timber,  their  chief  import- 
not  lie  wholly  in  that  direction.     They  hold  the  destiny   of 
the  <  >\w>  rivi  carrier  of  commerce.     Drainage  basins  in  many 

help  to  supply  the  Ohio's  channel,  but  the  substantial  part  of  its 
water  must  come  from  the  wooded  mountains  of  West  Virginia.     Prom 
ii  it  will  pour  down  in  destructive  floods  if  the  steep  slopes 
[aid  ban-,  or  it  will  \\<>w  in  moderate  and  steady  stages  if  the  forest 
maintained  as  it  should  be.     The  rainfall  will  not  materially 

(39 


Statement  by  Hu  Maxwell 


increase  or  diminish,  no  matter  to  what  extent  the  ground  may  be  cov- 
ered or  denuded,  but  there  will  be  a  tremendous  difference  in  the  manner 
in  which  the  rainfall  will  seek  the  sea.  With  forests,  today's  precipita- 
tion will  reach  the  rivers  during  the  following  weeks.  Without  forests 
it  will  be  in  the  channels,  and  overflow  them  tomorrow. 

Thus  far,  the  West  Virginia  forests  have  escaped  the  excessive  ex- 
ploitation which  has  denuded  so  many  other  parts  of  the  country.  Many 
mountain  summits  and  many  slopes  have  been  stripped  by  axe  and 
fire,  but  we  have,  as  yet,  been  spared  the  wide  and  utter  desolation 
which  has  been  visited  upon  many  regions  of  the  United  States. 

One-fourth  of  the  forest  tree  species  found  in  America  between  Mexico 
and  the  Arctic  ocean  grow  in  West  Virginia.  In  variety  it  is  not  sur- 
passed by  any  region  of  like  size.  The  Canadian  flora  creeps  southward 
along  our  mountain  tops,  and  the  trees  of  the  warm  South  creep  north- 
ward through  our  valleys,  while  the  forests  of  the  Atlantic  States  and 
of  the  Middle  West  meet  and  mingle  on  our  mountain  slopes  which  face 
every  point  of  the  compass,  catch  every  wind  that  blows,  and  partake 
a  little  of  nearly  every  climate  found  in  the  United  States. 

Happily,  the  West  Virginian  is  not  yet  under  the  necessity  of  going 
before  the  country  empty-handed  and  with  the  despairing  cry  that  we 
have  wasted  our  inheritance  and  must  be  saved  from  the  consequences 
of  our  own  improvidence  and  folly.  We  have  been  wasteful,  it  is  true; 
inexcusably  wasteful  and  thoughtless  in  many  ways,  and  particularly 
so  with  some  of  our  resources.  But  nature  gave  us  so  much  to  start 
with  that,  in  spite  of  waste  and  extravagance,  we  have  as  yet  barely 
touched  the  hem  of  the  garment  of  our  aggregate  natural  wealth. 

It  would  profit  little,  however,  to  file  an  inventory  of  what  we  have, 
if  we  did  not  show  a  willingness  to  use  it  wisely  for  the  good  of  others 
as  well  as  for  ourselves.  Ownership  does  not  imply  a  right  to  destroy, 
although  that  has  been  a  belief  all  too  common  in  the  past.  "After  us 
the  deluge"  should  not  be  a  doctrine  followed  by  sensible  men.  Those 
who  persist  in  following  that  teaching  ought  to  be  restrained  by  what- 
ever force  may  be  necessary  to  meet  the  emergency. 

Statistics  are  often  dry  and  meaningless,  but  there  is  no  dryness  in  a 
statement  of  what  the  rivers  of  West  Virginia  have  done  and  are  doing 
for  the  country,  and  what  the  forests  may  do  for  the  rivers.  The  Mo- 
nongahela  river,  which  receives  its  water  in  our  State  and  flows  across 
the  line  into  Pennsylvania,  is  one  of  the  largest  carriers  of  inland  com- 
merce in  America.  Perhaps,  as  a  carrier  of  freight  which  originates  on 
the  banks  of  the  streams  which  transport  it,  the  Monongahela  stands 
absolutely  first  among  the  rivers  of  the  whole  western  hemisphere.  Yet 
its  navigable  length  is  only  131  miles.  It  transports  annually  a  larger 
tonnage  than  is  carried  by  the  thirty-eight  navigable  streams  of  the 


(39O 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


:ed  States  flowing  to  the  Pacific  ocean,  with  1,600  miles  of  water; 
more  than  the  fifty-three  rivers,  with  5,000  miles  of  channel,  emptying 
in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico — the  Mississippi  not  included.  In  fact,  a  broader 
statement  than  this  is  true,  for  the  Monongahela's  annual  tonnage  is 
greater  than  that  of  all  the  rivers  of  the  United  States  flowing  to  the 
Pacific  ocean,  all  flowing  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico— excluding  the  Missis- 
sippi—all flowing  across  the  line  into  Canada,  added  to  the  entire  ton- 
nage of  the  Missouri  and  all  its  tributaries— 10%  more  than  the  tonnage 
of  all  these  combined.  The  forested  mountains  of  West  Virginia  send 
down  the  water  which  moves  this  enormous  commerce. 

The  Kanawha  river  of  West  Virginia  is  a  vast  freight  carrier  also, 
though  as  yet  it  is  of  less  importance  than  the  Monongahela.  It  is,  how- 
ever, of  no  less  importance  in  supplying  water  to  carry  the  commerce  of 
the  Ohio.  Without  the  water  from  the  Kanawha  and  the  Monongahela, 
the  Ohio  would  sink  to  an  insignificant  place  as  a  carrier  of  commerce, 
and  without  the  forest  cover  on  the  West  Virginia  mountains,  those  two 
valuable  tributaries  would  be  dangerous  because  of  excess  of  water  at 
one  time,  and  useless  for  want  of  it  at  another.  Complaints  of  floods 
and  droughts  are  already  heard ;  and  as  the  forest  destruction  spreads  to 
wider  areas,  the  floods  will  become  more  violent  and  destructive,  and 
the  droughts  more  frequent  and  more  severe. 

In  the  days  when  streams  of  emigrants  moved  from  the  Eastern  States 
to  the  West,  seeking  for  agricultural  lands,  the  mountains  of  West  Vir- 
ginia were  passed  by  and  rejected  as  of  little  value.  But  a  century  later 
it  is  found  to  be  another  instance  where  the  stone  rejected  by  the  builders 
becomes  the  chief  of  the  corner.  Our  mountains  do  not  and  never  can 
abundantly  grow  corn  and  wheat.  They  are  rough  and  steep  and  can- 
not compete  with  the  level  and  fertile  West  in  growing  grain;  but  they 
grow  forests  that  yield  place  to  none,  both  pines  and  hardwoods,  exceed- 
ing in  number  more  than  one  hundred  species,  and  some  of  them  attaining 
their  highest  perfection  there.  It  is  because  of  their  forests,  and  because 
of  their  steepness,  that  those  mountains  furnish  water,  not  only  for  the 
development  of  power  with  possibilities  almost  too  great  for  estimation, 
and  to  carry  the  commerce  of  the  Ohio,  and  to  a  considerable  extent  of 
the  Mississippi  as  well,  but  they  supply  the  best  that  goes  down  the  Poto- 
mac for  the  good  of  Maryland,  Virginia,  and  the  Nation's  Capital. 

In  working  out  this  country's  vital  problems  of  using  and  saving,  we 
of  Wesi  Virginia  believe  that  we  are  giving  as  much  as  we  are  asking. 
Ours  i  uol  a  narrow  <>r  selfish  view  of  this  great  work.  The  natural 
wealth  which  happens  lo  lie  so  abundantly  within  and  beneath  our  nar- 
row valleys  and  our  everlasting  hills  is  not  looked  upon  by  us  as  a  State 
asset  alone,  but  also  as  national  wealth.  We  understand  that  to  get  the 
\y    1   ;,  ,    ,,f  it  we  must  shan-  it,  and  help  others  while  we  help  ourselves. 

(392) 


Statement  by  Hu  Maxwell 


To  that  extent  and  for  that  purpose  we  look  on  State  boundaries  as  mere 
lines  in  mathematics,  having  length  and  position,  but  no  breadth,  and 
offering  no  obstacle  or  hindrance  to  the  development  and  exchange  of 
wealth. 


SUGGESTIONS  ON  THE  CONSERVATION  OF  COAL 

James  W.  Paul 

CHIEF    OF    DEPARTMENT    OF    MINES    OF    WEST    VIRGINIA 

Governor  Dawson,  in  his  speech  before  this  Conference,  proposed  that 
I  be  heard  on  the  question  relative  to  some  of  the  methods  which  might 
be  adopted  to  prevent  waste  of  our  resources — more  especially  coal. 

I  fully  appreciate  the  signal  honor  given  my  State  when  the  President 
designated  Dr  White  to  address  this  Conference  of  Governors  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  waste  of  our  natural  resources.  Dr  White  has  so  well  pre- 
sented his  subject  that  I  do  not  feel  called  to  add  anything  to  that  which 
he  has  said,  but  in  response  to  the  Governor  of  my  State,  I  will,  in  a  brief 
manner,  make  a  few  remarks  upon  the  means  and  methods  that,  if 
adopted,  would  lead  to  a  conservation  of  our  coal  deposits. 

First.  From  the  discussions  that  have  been  presented,  it  is  quite  evi- 
dent that  among  men  eminent  in  science  and  in  business  there  is  a  diver- 
sity of  opinion  as  to  the  probable  life  of  the  present  known  coal  deposits 
of  the  country. 

Second.  In  view  of  this  diversity  of  opinion  and  judgment,  it  only 
emphasizes  the  importance  of  the  necessity  of  securing  tangible  and 
definite  data  concerning  the  unnecessary  waste  in  the  extraction  of  our 
coals  and  other  minerals. 

Third.  The  question  of  how  such  waste  may  be  curtailed  involves, 
first  of  all,  an  investigation  along  scientific  lines  of  the  present  methods. 
This  naturally  commands  the  thought  and  work  of  the  trained  engineer, 
and  to  secure  the  data  necessary  the  work  should  be  wide  in  its  scope. 

Fourth.  There  are  conditions  under  which  some  beds  of  coal  will  yield 
90%  and  others  70  or  80%  of  the  entire  product,  which  may  be  extracted 
economically  with  safety  and  with  profit.  These  conditions  should  be 
made  known  to  all  engaged  in  mining  that  they  might  profit  thereby. 

Where  large  percentage  of  the  coal  bed  is  left  within  the  mine,  it  should 
be  left  in  such  a  condition  as  to  dimension  of  pillars  and  ribs  that  future 
generations  may  be  able  profitably  to  reopen  and  reclaim  the  coal. 

There  are  many  mines  where  a  large  percentage  of  the  product  is  suc- 
cessfully obtained  in  its  mining,  and  while  these  are  in  the  minority, 

(393) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

o 

through  the  proper  educational  work  and  the  assistance  of  legislation 
many  more  mines  could  be  benefitted. 

As  to  what  might  be  done  in  an  effort  to  correct  this  national  evil,  it 
would  be  well  for  the  Federal  Government  to  take  up  the  work  of  making 
such  investigation  as  would  enable  the  publishing  of  those  conditions 
under  which  the  greatest  percentage  of  coal  may  be  obtained  economically 
and  with  the  greatest  safety  to  the  labor  employed. 

The  Government  could  well  afford  to  lease  coal  lands  on  the  public 
domain,  requiring  the  deposits  to  be  worked  in  strict  conformity  with 
plans  prescribed  by  the  Government's  experts  on  this  subject,  and  the 
results  published. 

The  States  could  profit  by  this  experimental  work  and  formulate  laws 
requiring  that  a  given  tonnage  per  acre  for  any  particular  coal  should 
be  produced,  and  the  placing  of  a  tonnage  tax  on  any  deficiency. 

Equallv,  if  not  more,  important  with  the  conservation  of  the  coal  is 
the  conservation  of  the  health  and  life  of  the  labor  which  produces  the 
wealth  stored  within  coal. 

It  is  hoped  that  the  Government  may  continue  the  work  begun  by 
the  technologic  branch  of  the  Geological  Survey,  to  demonstrate  the 
extent  to  which  different  kinds  of  explosives  are  a  menace  to  the  lives 
of  mine  workers. 


SUGGESTIONS   ON   THE   CONSERVATION   OF  SOME   OF  OUR 

RESOURCES 

Edward  Gillette 
state  treasurer  of  wyoming 

The  proper  conservation  of  our  natural  resources  along  the  Rocky 
mountains  and  the  plains  adjacent  thereto  is  a  subject  for  deep  thought 
and  the  exercise  of  our  best  judgment. 

After  thirty  years'  experience  in  this  region  as  a  surveyor  and  .civil 
engineer,  beginning  with  making  of  topographical  maps  in  the  Govern- 
ment   service,    and    then    locating   several   thousand   miles   of   railway, 
extending  into  every  State  and  Territory  of  the  Rocky  mountain  section, 
it  is  difficult  for  me  at  the  present  time  to  imagine  the  cause  of  the  great 
oui  Government  in  permitting  the  destruction  of  its  forests 
to  .',<>  unchecked  for  so  long  a  time. 
To  illustrate  the  above,  Government  survey  parties  in  some  years 
■    unable    to   perform    their   triangulation   work   for   entire   seasons 
Jo  i lu   smoke  from  extensive  forest  fires,  and  up  to  recent  years 
were  allowed  to  burn  until  extinguished  by  the  winter  snows. 

(394) 


Statement  by  Edward  Gillette 


Large  areas  of  continuous  forest  are  very  undesirable,  as  a  fire  once 
started  is  liable  to  continue  to  burn  until  all  the  timber  is  destroyed; 
fire  guards,  therefore,  are  a  necessary  precaution.     The  ground  in  most 
of  our  forests  is  covered  with  pine  needles,  sometimes  to  considerable 
depth,  in  various  degrees  of  decomposition,  and  camp  fires  built  upon 
this  ground  are  particularly  dangerous,  as  this  soil  burns  and  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  extinguish  the  fire.     The  loss  of  much  of  our  timber  in  the  past 
is  attributable  to  these  conditions.     I  have  seen  a  fire  started  on  the 
vegetation  or  peat  of  a  dried-up  swamp  burn  for  three  months  and  defy 
all  efforts  to  extinguish  it  until  there  was  a  heavy  fall  of  snow.     The  fire 
will  travel  beneath  the  surface  for  considerable  distances  and  break  out  in 
fresh  places  several  days  after  one  thinks  it  has  been  entirely  subdued. 
From   personal  observations,    I   believe   that   our  Forest   Service,  by 
extinguishing  fires  in  their  incipiency,  has  saved  more  timber  in  recent 
years  than  has  been  consumed  in  a  commercial  manner.     It  is  to  be 
regretted  that  our  Government  was  so  extremely  slow  in  taking  any 
precautions  whatever  to  save  the  thousands  of  square  miles  of  timber 
which  have  been  destroyed  by  fire  during  the  period  before  the  Forestry 
Bureau  took  charge  of  our  forests.     The  greatest  menace  to  our  forests 
today  is  from  fires,  and  the  danger  increases  as  the  square  of  the  size  of 
the  timbered  area.     The  preservation  of  our  forests  from  destruction  and 
waste  depends  more  upon  protection  from  fire  than  any  other  thing. 
This  is  the  case  at  present  and  will  be  for  many  years  to  come.     A  large 
forest  fire  can  destroy  a  million  dollars'  worth  of  timber  in  a  day;    this 
has  been  done  in  the  past  and  is  liable  to  be  repeated  at  any  time  in  the 
future.     The  waste  in  this  particular  depends  entirely  upon  the  pre- 
cautions taken  to  avoid  fires  and  prompt  action  in  putting  them  out 
when  once   started.     A  burning  forest   not   only  destroys  the  timber, 
but  frequently  consumes  the  soil  composed  for  the  greater  part  of  vege- 
tation.    In  thus  destroying  the  soil  reforestation  is  impossible,   while 
the  dirt,  which  acts  as  a  sponge  or  reservoir  to  retard  the  flow  of  water, 
is  replaced  by  rock  which  causes  a  mountain  torrent  and  dry  creek  bed 
to   take   the   place   of  a   continuous   flowing   stream.     Mountains   well 
covered  with  soil  even  without  timber  make  continuous  flowing  streams 
in  the  valleys  below,  so  that  the  country  can  be  peopled.     Trees,  there- 
fore, densely  covering  the  mountains  are  a  menace  to  the  soil  as  well  as 
the  timber.     The  destruction  of  the  soil  renders  the  valley  below  unin- 
habitable, which  would   have  remained  habitable  had  no  timber  ever 
been  grown  upon  the  soil.     I  live  in  a  section  of  the  country  which  is 
thickly  settled,  but  if  the  soil  was  eliminated  in  the  mountains  all  values 
would  be  practically  wiped  out  and  this  region  be  depopulated. 

This  condition  is  referred  to  in  order  to  illustrate  the  fact  that  to 
conserve  our  forests  it  is  imperative  to  avoid  forest  fires,  and  also  that 

(395) 
56254—09 28 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


on  account  of  the  fact  that  the  damage  caused  by  these  fires  reaches 
much  further  at  limes  than  the  simple  destruction  of  the  timber.  It 
comes  pretty  near  being  the  case  that  where  the  forests  are  preserved 
from  fires,  it  preserves  all  the  values  in  the  surrounding  country  which 
have  as  their  basis  the  water  flow  of  the  streams.  We  must  also  not  lose 
sight  of  the  fact  that  hundreds  of  lives  have  already  been  sacrificed 
through  forest  fires.  The  care  of  our  forests  involves  greater  responsi- 
bifity  than  is  ordinarily  realized,  and  this  work  can  not  be  too  thoroughly 
performed.  It  can  and  should  be  done,  however,  in  a  manner  agreeable 
to  the  people  living  near  these  forest  reserves,  as  they  will  always  be  the 
ones  most  vitally  concerned  in  the  proper  care  of  the  forests,  and  they 
will  be  glad  to  cooperate  so  far  as  possible  in  upholding  every  reasonable 
:  tue  -  >r  regulation  of  the  Forestry  Bureau.  It  is  assumed  that  the  officers 
of  this  bureau,  at  least  those  who  determine  its  policy,  are  men  of 
superior  intelligence  and  gifted  with  more  than  common  sense.  If 
such  is  the  case,  it  looks  as  though  no  friction  should  be  created  which 
would  not  be  quickly  removed. 

There  are  some  features  of  our  forest  administration  which  require 
consideration.  The  Government  charges,  for  example,  two  dollars  and 
a  half  per  thousand  feet  as  a  stumpage  fee;  private  owners  of  the  forest 
lands  immediately  raise  the  price  correspondingly  of  their  private  hold- 
ings. In  one  State  alone  36,000,000,000  feet  are  given  as  being  in 
private  ownership  with  an  annual  cut  of  1,000,000,000  feet,  an  extra 
profit  is  thus  made  per  year  of  $2,500,000,  and  an  increase  of  $90,000,000 
in  the  value  of  the  holdings. 

It  is  a  fact  that  owners  of  large  tracts  of  timber  in  the  West  have 
marked  up  the  price  of  their  holdings  many  hundreds  of  millions  of 

liars  on  account  of  the  charges  made  by  the  Government.  Consider 
a  large  owner  of  timber  paying  the  Government  a  few  thousand  dollars 
for  stumpage  on  what  public  timber  he  cuts,  and  marking  up  the  value 
.f  bis  private  holdings  millions  of  dollars.  The  People,  of  course,  have  to 
pay  for  it,  and  the  cost  is  very  burdensome  at  present.  The  more  the 
eminent  charges,  the  greater  the  profit  to  private  owners.  This 
added  value  h;is  already  assumed  proportions  almost  beyond  one's  com- 
prehension.  It  has  been  stated  that  "low  price  of  timber  means  neglect 
and  waste."  It  is  also  true  that  the  low  price  means  more  use,  which  is 
the  chief  value  of  this  product,  or  any  other  for  that  matter. 

Tii'  pre  ■-.<  rvatiorj  of  our  forests  is  endorsed  by  all  the  People  of  the  West, 
and  it  ap]  policy  could  be  adopted  to  obtain  their  hearty 

cooperation  in  this  business.     The  importance  of  this  subject  is  gnat 

enough  to  n  quire  our  united  action,  and  every  effort  should  be  made  to 

this  end.     If  good  judgmenl  and  a  recognition  of  the  influence  of  the  rules 
adopted  upon  the  welfare  of  the  present  generation  be  exercised,  especially 

" 


Statement  by  Edward  Gillette 


as  to  those  living  near  the  forest  reserves,  no  ill  feeling  would  be  engen- 
dered, but  a  hearty  cooperation  be  established,  which  is  a  consummation 
devoutly  to  be  desired. 

Our  coal  supply  can  be  greatly  conserved  by  encouraging  the  use  of 
water  power  as  much  as  possible  and  the  securing  of  a  greater  amount  of 
heat  from  the  coal  consumed.  The  consumption  of  more  of  the  gas  in 
the  coal  will  probably  soon  be  realized  and  enable  us  to  secure  several 
times  the  present  amount  of  heat  units  obtained  from  the  coal.  Water 
power  is  the  most  economical  of  any  on  account  of  the  fact  that  no  water 
is  consumed,  there  being  the  same  quantity  left  for  domestic,  irrigation, 
or  any  other  purpose.  Nothing  should  be  charged  for  this  power  beyond 
a  nominal  rental.  The  water  power  is  sometimes  owned  by  States  or 
individuals  who  control  the  flow  by  means  of  reservoirs,  and  arrange- 
ments in  these  cases  could  easily  be  made  with  the  owners.  The  water 
for  domestic  and  irrigation  purposes  should  always  have  the  preference 
over  that  for  power  purposes. 

In  regard  to  the  Government  leasing  land  for  grazing  purposes  a  serious 
problem  arises.  Land  which  was  thought  fit  for  nothing  except  the 
native  grasses  which  it  produced  is  now  raising  fine  crops  by  what  is  called 
dry  farming.  It  has  been  ascertained  that  irritation  of  the  soil  is  equal 
in  effect  to  that  of  irrigation.  Large  quantities  of  land  are  now  being 
settled  upon  in  the  arid  region,  water  is  being  conserved  in  places  unthought 
of  ten  years  ago,  and  with  the  introduction  of  plant  life  requiring  the 
least  amount  of  moisture  a  wonderful  production  is  assured.  It  has  been 
already  demonstrated  that  it  is  only  a  question  of  a  comparatively  short 
time  before  all  of  our  arid  lands  will  be  settled  upon  and  cultivated.  To 
enter  upon  any  extensive  system  of  leasing  land  for  range  purposes 
would  be  going  backward  instead  of  forward  in  our  development,  and 
discourage  the  conservation  of  a  large  quantity  of  water  which  now 
goes  to  waste. 

In  the  conservation  of  our  resources  a  great  effort  should  be  made  to 
secure  the  best  results  from  the  brains  and  muscles  of  our  People.  Cor- 
porations having  policies  which  do  not  command  the  lovaltv  of  em- 
ployees or  the  good  will  of  the  public  cause  great  waste  and  detriment 
to  the  conservation  of  our  resources.  Everyone  is  damaged  thereby. 
It  seems  that  some  men,  particularly  bright  and  intelligent  in  certain 
features  of  their  business,  are  almost  totally  lacking  in  being  able  to 
adopt  an  ordinary  common-sense  method  in  other  particulars  equally 
essential,  with  the  result  that  great  waste  is  caused  in  all  material,  and  in 
addition  the  best  efforts  of  the  employees  are  not  obtained,  and  the 
records  of  the  business  consequently  do  not  show  anywhere  near  as  good 
results  as  should  be  secured.  This  is  very  unfortunate  for  the  owners  and 
the  people  especially,  who  in  the  end  are  obliged  to  sustain  much  of  the 


(397) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


loss,  and  no  good  is  obtained  by  anyone.  Every  concern,  as  a  rule,  reflects 
in  its  employees  the  policy,  principles,  and  judgment  of  its  chief,  and  its 
general  reputation  and  character  is  clearly  indicated  and  established 
without  error. 

A  wonderful  work  is  being  performed  now  in  the  West  by  conserving 
flood  waters  and  letting  them  go  back  gradually  to  the  streams  after  hav- 
ing been  used  on  land  for  irrigation  purposes.  This  work  justifies  the 
hearty  cooperation  of  the  whole  country. 

We  are  in  our  infancy  in  discovering  the  raw  material  and  energy  which 
will  be  used  bv  future  generations,  and  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  the  brains 
of  mankind  will  solve  every  problem  as  presented  if  we  only  conserve  our 
resources  in  an  intelligent  and  sensible  manner  according  to  the  knowl- 
edge we  now  possess.  Nothing,  however,  can  make  amends  for  lack  of 
energy  and  foresight  in  the  conservation  of  our  natural  resources. 


CONSERVATION  IN  RELATION  TO  LABOR 

Samuel  Gompers 
president  american  federation  of  labor 

Although  we  are  fairly  familiar  with  object  lessons  touching  the 
tremendous  strides  of  production  in  industry,  art,  science,  and  invention, 
we  are  not  fully  aware  of  the  constant  tendency  of  these  pursuits  to 
reduce  the  volume  of  the  earth  so  that,  in  a  figurative  sense,  its  lines  and 
dimensions  are  narrowed  and  the  various  nations  and  peoples  brought 
into  closer  and  more  compact  association. 

Time  is  the  prime  factor  in  the  distribution  of  the  world's  products. 
Speed  in  delivery  of  products  is  secondary  only  to  the  resource  for  their 
production.  The  reduction  of  time  then  in  transportation  of  products 
and  raw  mate  rials  in  commerce  is  one  of  the  most  important  links  in  the 
chain  thai  binds  nations  closer  together.  Speed  in  the  transmission  of 
imunications,  news,  and  the  like,  is  another  link  in  this  mighty  chain 
"of   the  rvation   of  energy  applied   to  industrial,   commercial,   and 

maritime  pursuits.  The  enormous  investment  of  labor  and  wealth  in 
maritime  comrm  mother  link  in  the  chain. 

The  principle  of  exportation  underlies  in  another  form  the  unity  and 

amalgamation  of  nations,  the  true  economic  idea  being  that  an  excess  of 

orl  \  places  the  balano  o\  trade  with  the  nation  or  people  possessing 

in  the  greater  abundance,  together  with  facilities  and  skill  to 

(398 


Statement  by  Samuel  Gompers 


produce  and  market  them.  All  nations  are  striving  to  excel  in  exports, 
thus  making  the  world  at  large  their  market,  and,  as  a  corollary,  bring- 
ing the  nations  closer  together.  When  we  say  that  the  markets  of  New 
York  and  Liverpool  or  London  are  within  five  days  of  one  another  we  are 
stating  a  twentieth  century  economic  principle  as  against  one  of  the 
sixteenth,  seventeenth  or  eighteenth  centuries,  when  those  markets  were 
from  six  weeks  to  two  months  apart. 

The  language  of  production  and  transportation  is  cost  and  speed  time. 
A  shipment  of  goods  from  New  York  to  Denver  or  San  Francisco  is  figured 
at  so  many  days.  Chicago,  New  York,  Boston,  Liverpool,  London,  Paris 
are  so  many  days  apart.  Distance  is  no  longer  the  computation.  In 
the  reduction  of  time  distance  is  annihilated.  The  merchant  prince  sit- 
ting in  his  office  in  Chicago  is  in  practically  immediate  connection  with 
his  business  and  financial  correspondents  on  the  two  seaboards;  or,  if  it 
is  required,  he  can  cable  his  orders  to  London,  Singapore,  Shanghai, 
Yokohama,  or  any  other  of  the  myriad  centers  of  industry  and  commerce 
on  the  globe. 

The  People,  the  American  People,  are  to  become  aware  of  this  fore- 
shortening of  the  industrial  and  commercial  perspective,  and  there  must 
be  wise  measures  introduced  for  the  conservation  of  economic  energies. 
The  abolition  of  Time's  tyrannies  must  not  be  considered  at  all  complete 
in  the  strides  already  made.  It  must  be  carried  forward  into  those  natural 
reservations  the  nation  must  use  in  building  and  providing  for  posterity. 
Added  to  this  requirement  is  the  constant  vigilance  necessary  for  the 
welfare  of  the  workers,  the  wealth-producing  wage  earners,  for  in  the  last 
analysis  upon  their  material  advancement  depends  the  future  of  our 
Republic.  The  farther  the  American  People  go  in  these  provisions  for 
the  future,  the  more  worthily  they  will  subserve  the  true  economic  prin- 
ciple— that  is  to  say,  the  conservation  of  natural  resources  and  energy 
of  the  laborer  in  production  for  the  welfare  and  well-being  of  the  Nation. 

Prominent  and  vital  among  these  measures  of  the  national  defense 
against  the  encroachments  of  the  world's  commercial  contraction  are  the 
effects  of  flagrant  waste  that  lie  in  the  unemployment  of  wealth  pro- 
ducers, in  the  denudation  of  forests,  unchecked  rapacity  of  corporate 
monopoly  in  lands,  mines,  waterways,  and  other  natural  resources  of 
wealth  subject  to  exploitation.  The  Nation  will  have  to  meet  the  issue 
of  intrenched  "vested  rights"  when  it  comes  fully  to  deal  with  the  prin- 
ciples of  reclamation,  and  these  criminal  wastes  will  have  to  be  checked. 

For  the  present,  however,  the  reclamation  of  public  lands  in  arid 
regions,  reforestation,  development  of  waterways,  the  preservation  of 
mineral  beds  and  the  extension  of  natural  reservations,  form  the  ground- 
work of  one  of  the  most  important  of  all  the  constructive  features  of  tin- 
national  life.     It  is  a  matter  of  profound  interest  and  gratification  to  the 


(399) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

American  People  that  the  Conference  of  Governors  of  States,  forestry, 
irrigation,  and  waterway  engineering  experts,  and  others  who  have  given 
the  public  weal  their  study,  was  called  together  by  the  Chief  Executive 
of  the  Nation. 

These  eminent  citizens  are  gathered  in  obedience  to  a  call,  the  inspira- 
tion of  which  strikes  the  key-note  of  the  Nation's  future  policy  in  the 
field  of  civic  betterment.  It  is  the  extension  of  the  new  school  of  political 
economy.  It  is  in  the  nature  of  the  great  stewardship  that  underlies  the 
brotherhood  of  man.  No  more  noble  incentive  to  that  end  can  be  imag- 
ined than  is  to  be  found  in  the  impulse  that  prompts  wise  and  far-seeing 
statesmanship  to  build  and  preserve  for  the  future.  Happily,  too,  this 
Conference  will  act  as  a  check  on  the  marauding  instinct  so  flagrantly 
exercised  in  the  exploitation  of  the  Nation's  natural  resources  by  men 
whose  actions  have  hitherto  been  sanctioned  by  law.  In  respect  of  waste 
and  extravagance  in  the  economic  sense,  these  marauders  have  placed 
the  American  Republic  in  a  situation  unparalleled  in  economic  conserva- 
tion among  the  nations.  In  one  item  alone,  that  of  fuel,  it  is  figured  out 
by  one  of  the  experts  attendant  upon  this  Conference  that  two  hundred 
million  tons  of  coal  are  wasted  every  year  in  the  mining  processes  of  the 
nation,  which  is  equal  to  two  hundred  million  dollars,  every  ton  of  coal 
being  worth  a  dollar  at  the  mines.  Add  to  this  the  colossal  waste  in  the 
exploitation  of  timber  lands,  waterpower,  and  the  like,  and  we  have  some 
faint  conception  of  the  load  our  economic  energies  are  carrying. 

It  is  a  matter  of  fruitful  reflection  and  congratulation  that  a  halt  is 
to  be  made  in  this  mad  scrimmage  after  the  cream  of  our  industrial 
resources.  Not  only  is  the  public  domain  thus  ruthlessly  exploited,  but 
what  is  of  far  more  importance,  the  lives  and  fortunes  of  myriads  of  the 
working  units  of  the  nation  are  exploited  with  as  little  concern  (and  in 
many  instances  with  less  concern)  as  that  which  pertains  to  the  exploita- 
tion and  pillage  of  the  Nation's  physical  resources. 

It  is  now  more  than  thirty  years  ago  when,  with  a  number  of  workmen 
in  New  York  City,  we  established  a  Labor  Lyceum  in  connection  with 
labor  organizations  of  the  times,  and  at  its  weekly  meetings  this  very 
subject  of  the  conservation  of  the  natural  resources  of  our  country  formed 
the  topic  of  lectures  and  discussions  covering  a  period  of  many  months. 
The  discussion  formulated  itself  in  declarations  of  the  organized  labor 
movement  of  our  country,  which  declared  the  very  principles  enunciated 
at  this  Conference.  I  if  course,  I  should  add  that  the  question  of  the  de- 
nuding of  "in  forests  was  not  then  an  imminent  danger,  and,  therefore 
formed  no  part  <>f  the  discussion.  I  mention  this,  however,  to  emphasize 
the  fact  thai  generally  speaking  the  declarations  and  demands  made  by 
t  Ik  organized  labor  movement  of  our  country  are  a  decade  or  more  in  ad 
trance  of  then  itance,  and  this  is  what  this  present  Convention 


Statement  by  Samuel  Gompers 


of  experts  means,  and  these  are  some  of  the  legitimate  ramifications  that 
attend  its  deliberations;  it  means  the  readjustment  of  resources  to  eco- 
nomic conditions. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  form  of  waste  from  which  we  suffer  at  this  time 
is  the  waste  involved  in  the  unemployment  of  immense  numbers  of  our 
people,  and  this  waste  is  due  to  no  fault  of  the  working  people.  Without 
affirming  to  whom  is  traceable  the  blame  of  the  present  condition  of  un- 
employment, no  one  can  truthfully  charge  that  the  cause  can  be  laid  at 
the  door  of  the  working  people  of  our  country.  It  is  perhaps  the  severest 
commentary  upon  the  intelligence  and  understanding  of  economic  and 
social  conditions  that  there  are  at  this  time  about  two  millions  of  our 
working  people  vainly  seeking  the  opportunity  of  working  and  earning 
their  bread  by  the  sweat  of  their  brows.  Apart  from  the  demoralizing 
influence  of  such  a  state  of  affairs,  a  mere  statement  of  the  material  loss 
may  not  be  uninteresting. 

It  is  now  seven  months  since  last  October  when  the  panic  was  thrust 
upon  our  people.  Counting  25  normal  working  days  for  each  month,  we 
have  a  total  of  175  working  days,  and  giving  the  conservative  sum  of 
$2.50  wealth  produced  daily  for  each  worker,  there  has  been  a  waste  or 
loss  of  $875,000,000  of  wealth  which  could  and  would  have  been  produced 
but  for  uneconomic  methods. 

In  our  uneconomic  methods,  no  accounting  is  here  given  of  the  myriads 
of  workers  whose  bodies  are  maimed  or  whose  lives  are  destroyed  in 
industry  and  commerce  by  ignorance,  incompetence,  or  greed.  What  is 
more  wasteful,  what  is  more  the  antithesis  to  the  conservation  of  our 
natural  resources? 

Grand  indeed  is  the  vista  that  looms  up  in  the  development  of  ideas 
and  measures  here  considered.  It  will  require  a  generation  to  work  out 
measures  here  adopted.  We  are  going  beneath  the  harrow  that  has 
thus  far  scratched  over  our  vast  domain.  Here  we  have  a  continent 
comprising  nearly  a  score  of  millions  of  square  miles  of  territory.  The 
question  Destiny  is  asking  us  is:  "What  are  you  going  to  do  with  it? 
How  are  you  going  to  hand  it  down  to  your  children  and  your  children's 
children?  Shall  that  deliverance  be  in  the  spirit  of  reversion  to  degen- 
erate types  now  fostered  and  proclaimed  in  a  vulgar  millionairism  with 
alliances  amongst  the  moral  and  intellectual  perverts  of  foreign  aris- 
tocracy, or  shall  it  be  in  the  spirit  of  that  rugged,  forceful,  and  intelligent 
manhood  and  womanhood  that  breeds  and  fosters  the  aristocracy  of 
heart  and  mind  as  seen  in  the  outworkings  of  American  idealism  as  well 
as  economic  energy?" 

We  assume,  and  of  just  right  proclaim,  that  the  physical  constitution 
of  the  American  Republic  and  its  political  institutions  are  rapidly  form- 
ing the  foundation  of  the  world's  social,  moral,  and  spiritual  regenera- 


Uoi) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


tion;  and  on  such  assumption  and  proclamation  this  Conference  must 
stand.  There  is  no  greater  or  more  profitable  business  enterprise  now 
before  the  Nation  than  is  included  in  the  plans  and  purposes  involved 
in  the  discussion  of  the  subjects  here  considered. 

We  a  .ding  at  the  meeting  and  parting  of  ways.     We  are  pre- 

paring to  take  hold  upon  a  new  form  of  national  life.  We  are  to  leave 
the  old  ways,  taking  with  us  a  glorious  and  profitable  experience.  We 
are  to  set  our  faces  toward  the  oncoming  prodigious  development  of  our 
country.  Population  is  increasing  enormously.  Commercial  centers  are 
taxing  their  energies  to  provide  for  the  handling  of  our  manufactured 
and  raw  materials,  of  our  crops,  and  the  housing,  feeding,  schooling, 
and  general  livelihood  of  their  constantly  growing  populations.  Millions 
of  acres  of  virgin  soil  are  being  prepared  by  irrigation  for  the  farmer  and 
the  husbandman.  The  great  watersheds  of  the  country  are  more  and 
more  forcing  themselves  upon  the  attention  of  wise  and  thoughtful  con- 
servators of  the  Nation's  future;  inland  waterways;  great  canals  and 
navigable  streams  whereon  to  float  the  commerce  of  the  future;  the 
development  of  forestry  as  an  art,  and  the  seeding,  planting,  and  cul- 
tivation of  young  trees;  the  appointment  and  maintenance  of  national 
commissions  to  look  after  these  great  projects;  the  prospective  estab- 
lishment of  a  Department  of  Labor  with  a  secretary  in  the  President's 
cabinet — all  these  things  loom  up  on  the  horizon  of  this  new  day  or  era 
in  the  progress  and  development  of  the  American  Republic. 

When  we  see  the  great  cities  of  our  country  and  their  environs  stretch- 
ing away  through  their  once  suburban  population,  and  all  the  inter- 
vening territory  a  bounteous  and  marvelous  reservoir  capable  of  not  only 
housing,  feeding,  clothing,  and  educating  the  People  of  our  mighty  Re- 
public, but  which  will  become  a  gigantic  mill  to  grind  our  products  and 
commodities  for  which  the  whole  world  will  bid,  we  shall  attract  to  our 
slion  s  the  vine  and  the  flower  of  the  world's  civilization. 

We  shall  in  truth  become  the  asylum  of  the  oppressed;  and  as  we  now 
Stand  for  political  and  religious  liberty,  so  shall  we  become  the  exemplar 
and  defender  of  industrial  freedom. 

When  we  have  all  of  these  advantages,  the  labor  energy  of  the  Republic 
will  dominate  the  world. 

Por  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  labor  energy  is  the  foundation  of  all 
wealth.     Nothing  is  accomplished  without  labor. 

Nothing  is  ever  produced  withoul  labor. 

You  can  transport  a  train  load  of  gold  dollars  from  New  York  to  San 
Francisco  and  back  again  and  keep  on  doing  so,  but  these  gold  dollars 
will  never  produce  a  single  atom  of  new  wealth. 

Labor  alone  is  the  womb  in  which  are  nurtured  and  fostered  every 
blessing  that  attends  tin-  progress  and  development   of  mankind. 

<4' 


Statement  by  Samuel  Gompers 


When  we  are  expanded  and  developed,  our  national  resources  wrested 
from  the  hands  of  heedless  marauders  and  conserved  as  the  nation's 
patrimony;  when  our  great  natural  waterways  are  connected  with  canals; 
when  our  denuded  watersheds  are  rehabilitated  and  made  verdant  and 
fruitful,  and  when  the  Nation  through  the  people  speaks,  the  working 
men  and  the  working  women,  who  in  reality  do  everythng  that  is  done, 
will  take  their  place  in  freedom. 

The  Nation  can  not  shirk  its  responsibility ;  there  are  many  evils  to  be 
overcome ;  still  the  preponderance  of  energy  is  on  the  side  of  progressive 
development,  with  justice  and  amity  as  the  controlling  spirit.  It  is  an 
evidence  of  enlightenment  that  the  Nation  turns  its  face  against  iniquity; 
the  masses  of  the  people  and  the  majority  of  leaders,  thinkers,  and 
exemplars  amongst  them  have  no  alliance  with  these  detriments  to 
society  and  the  State.  Prisons  yawn  all  the  while  for  small  thieves  and 
depredators.  What  is  essential  is  to  pitch  some  of  the  great  thieves 
and  colossal  hypocrites  into  them.  But  these  matters  are  incidental, 
however  their  front  frowns  upon  the  public  attention.  The  stress  of  the 
storm  and  tempest  of  the  Nation's  activities  is  toward  the  upbuilding 
and  sustaining  of  principles  of  justice  and  equity  to  all  men.  We  shall 
carry  these  principles  into  our  industrial,  business,  and  commercial  life 
as  we  proceed  in  our  activities,  and  we  shall  be  instinct  with  that  spirit 
of  mercy  and  generosity  which  forms  the  athletics  of  the  mind. 

We  shall  invite  the  world  to  us,  and  the  world  will  come. 

Let  us  be  true  conservators  of  our  natural  resources. 

Let  us  lay  violent  hands  upon  the  predatory  spirit  that  skims  the  cream 
and  runs  away  with  it,  leaving  the  refuse  for  the  babes,  mothers,  and 
fathers  who  are  poor. 

Let  us  make  it  impossible,  by  removing  the  germs  that  produce  the 
disease,  for  any  man  in  this  Nation  to  control  for  his  private  benefit  any 
portion  of  that  natural  increment  which  wealth  attaches  to  itself  and 
which  belongs  to  the  whole  people,  the  workers,  whether  they  be  high 
or  low  in  the  scale  of  production. 

When  there  shall  come  to  our  people  a  better  understanding  of  the 
husbanding  of  our  natural  resources,  the  readjustment  of  economic 
conditions  will  not  leave  out  of  the  equation  the  men  and  women  of 
labor  who  are  so  essential  to  our  industrial,  commercial,  political,  and 
social  welfare — the  men  and  women  who  perform  so  great  a  service  to 
society. 


<4°3) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


VIEW  OF  THE  ENGINEER 
Henry  G.  Stott 

PRESIDENT    AMERICAN    INSTITUTE    OF    ELECTRICAL   ENGINEERS 

The  very  able  papers  presented  before  this  Conference  may  be  briefly 
summarized  and  conclusions  deduced  from  them  as  follows: 
Under  present  wasteful  conditions: 
(i)  Forests  will  be  practically  depleted  at  the  end  of  twenty-five  years. 

(2)  The  best  grades  of  iron  ore  will  be  exhausted  in  seventy-five  years. 

(3)  The  ever  increasing  demand  for  coal  for  manufacturing,  heating, 
and  transportation  purposes  is  such  that  one  hundred  years  hence  the 
available  supply  will  be  so  difficult  of  access  and  so  inferior  in  quality 
that  the  relative  cost  per  ton  will  be  several  times  its  present  value. 

(4)  The  soil  is  being  so  exhausted  by  the  short-sighted  methods  of 
unscientific  farming  that  instead  of  the  yield  per  acre  being  increased  it 
is  steadily  decreasing  and  has  now  reached  a  point  at  which  the  returns 
are  50%  less  than  they  should  be. 

The  remedial  measures  to  be  taken  may  also  be  briefly  summarized  as 
follows : 

(1)  The  adoption  of  a  liberal  policy  of  reforestation  under  the  State 
and  Federal  Governments  will  in  time  effect  a  complete  solution  of  the 
problem,  and  at  the  same  time  have  a  most  important  and  salutary  bear- 
ing upon  the  question  of  water  power  and  irrigation. 

The  measure,  however,  to  give  immediate  relief  is  the  removal  of  the 
tariff  on  lumber. 

Apparently  no  remedy  for  the  exhaustion  of  our  iron  ore  is  in 
sight.  The  removal  of  the  tariff  will  unquestionably  postpone  the  evil 
day  of  complete  exhaustion  and  tend  to  equalize  conditions  all  over  the 
world. 

I  j)  Fortunately  we  have  at  hand  agents  by  means  of  which  the  coal 
supply  <.:ni  be  conserved  for  several  hundred  years.  It  is  estimated  that 
the  actual  horsepower  used  for  all  purposes  in  the  United  States  does  not 
equal  more  than  10,000,000  during  maximum  demand,  and  it  is  also 
estimated  thai  the  undeveloped  water  powers  would  give  approximately 
30, f**  1,000  horsepower. 

To  make  this  enormous  supply  available  where  wanted,  electric  trans- 
mission of  power  can  be  successfully  and  commercially  used  at  present 
up  to  a  distance  of  over  200  miles;  and  there  is  every  prospect  that  this 
distance  will  in  the  near  future  be  greatly  increased. 

(404) 


Statement  by  President  Stott 


Each  horsepower  developed  by  heat  derived  from  coal  now  requires 
approximately  eight  tons  of  coal  per  annum,  so  that  if  the  10,000,000 
horsepower  now  used  could  be  developed  by  water  power  there  would 
result  a  saving  of  not  less  than  80,000,000  tons  per  annum. 

A  saving  of  fuel  of  great  importance  will  undoubtedly  result  from  the 
research  work  now  being  carried  out  under  the  Technologic  Branch  of 
the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  as  no  question  in  engineering  has 
been  so  neglected  as  the  efficient  combustion  of  fuel  under  boilers.  Since 
the  results  of  the  numerous  tests  carried  out  by  this  Technologic  Branch 
have  been  published,  great  interest  has  been  stimulated  in  the  subject 
and  more  scientific  results  obtained  by  the  large  coal  users. 

(4)  The  States,  through  their  Agricultural  Departments,  have  control 
of  the  question  of  scientific  farming  in  their  own  hands,  and  although 
much  excellent  work  is  being  done  in  our  Agricultural  Colleges  and 
Experimental  Farms,  this  work  must  be  extended  so  as  to  reach  all 
concerned. 

Perhaps  no  other  body  of  men  come  quite  so  closely  in  contact  with  the 
problems  involved  in  this  historic  Conference  on  the  Conservation  of  our 
Natural  Resources  as  Engineers;  and  speaking  for  them,  I  can  promise 
their  hearty  and  disinterested  cooperation  in  this  great  patriotic  move- 
ment inaugurated  by  you. 


CONSERVATION  OF  MINERALS 

John  Hays  Hammond 

president  american  institute  of  mining  engineers 

What  has  been  said  of  the  danger  of  the  rapid  depletion  of  the  iron 
and  coal  deposits  is  applicable,  mutatis  mutandis,  to  the  other  mineral 
deposits  of  the  country. 

In  common  with  every  other  national  industry,  that  of  mining  is 
vitally  concerned  in  the  conservation  of  our  natural  resources.  These 
discussions  show  conclusively  the  interdependence  of  our  national  indus- 
tries. The  exploitation  of  our  mines  depends,  chiefly,  upon  the  costs  of 
labor,  power,  and  supplies;  and  these  costs  are  determined  by  the  econo- 
mies attending  the  development  of  our  other  natural  resources.  Thus 
the  cost  of  mining  labor  is  dependent  upon  the  expenses  of  living;  the 
cost  of  power,  upon  the  cost  of  fuel  or  the  cost  of  power  hydro-electrically 
generated;  and  lastly,  the  cost  of  supplies  depends  upon  the  cost  of  their 
production.     Therefore,  upon  the  economies  effected  in  the  other  national 

(405) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


industries  depends,  reciprocally,  the  cost  of  our  mineral  products.  Now 
obviously,  the  lower  the  cost  of  mining,  the  greater  the  available  tonnage 
of  products  that  can  be  profitably  mined.  Indeed,  in  many  of  our  low- 
grade  mines,  so  called,  the  margin  between  profit  and  loss  is  so  small  that 
any  appreciable  increase  in  the  cost  of  mining  involves  pecuniary  loss 

the  consequent  cessation  of  operations.  Furthermore— and  this  is 
important— the  mines  of  this  character  are  those  from  which  the  major 
part  of  our  production  is  derived. 

It    has   been,    unfortunately,    the   popular   custom   to   refer   to   large 
deposits  of  ore  as  illimitable  and  inexhaustible.     Such  hyperbole  character- 

the  description  of  the  famous  gold  deposits  of  the  Transvaal.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  we  mining  engineers  know  that  even  these  exceptionally 
extensive  deposits  will  be  practically  exhausted  within  a  couple  of 
decades — certainly  within  a  generation.  The  ever  increasing  rapidity 
of  exploitation  consequent  upon  the  exigencies  of  modern  engineering 
and  economic  practice,  inevitably  tends  to  an  alarming  diminution  of 
the  lives — if  I  may  use  that  term — of  our  mineral  deposits.  The  culmi- 
nation of  our  mining  industry  is  to  be  reckoned  in  decades,  and  its 
declension  (if  not  practically  its  economic  exhaustion)  in  generations, 
not  in  centuries.  While  it  is  undoubtedly  the  fact  that  a  very  consid- 
erable lowering  of  the  working  costs  or  a  correspondingly  greatly 
enhanced  value  of  the  mineral  products  would  prolong  the  activity  of 
the  mining  industry,  yet  the  statement  I  have  made,  predicated  as  it  is 
upon  the  known  mineral  deposits,  may  be  regarded  as  conservative. 
F. xplorations  will  undoubtedly  lead  to  the  finding  of  new  mining  fields, 
but  the  discovery  of  the  more  important  deposits  will,  in  all  probability, 
occur  in  the  comparatively  near  future. 

There  is  no  way  of  revolutionizing  our  mining  methods  to  attain  better 

results,  but  they  are  susceptible,  it  is  true,  of  great  improvement,  and 

illy    so    in    the    metallurgical    processes.     But    even    therein    the 

ducible  minimum  is  not  great,  compared  with  the  advantage  that 
would  result  to  the  mining  industry  from  the  conservation  of  the  natural 
resources  of  the  country. 

In  striving,  as  we  engineers  are  doing,  to  prevent,  as  it  were,  the 
leakage  of  water  through  the  bung-hole,  we  see  a  large  volume  flowing 
out  through  the  broken  staves  at  the  other  end  of  the  barrel.  It  is 'for 
tlii  n  thai  you  may  rely  upon  the  hearty  cooperation  of  the  miners 

of  our  country  in  your  efforts  to  conserve  the  Nation's  natural  resources 
and  to  perp<  tuate  our  national  supremacy. 


■ 


Statement  by  William  Mcintosh 


RAILWAYS  AND  CONSERVATION 

WlIvLIAM    MdNTOSH 
PRESIDENT    AMERICAN    RAILWAY    MASTER    MECHANICS    ASSOCIATION 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1906  there  were  2,160,542  freight  and  miscella- 
neous cars  in  service  on  the  railroads  of  the  United  States.  Of  this 
number  approximately  350,000  are  all  steel,  and  250,000  have  steel 
underframe  only,  leaving  1,560,542  wooden  cars  of  varying  age  to  be 
replaced,  it  is  safe  to  assume,  within  the  next  15  years,  as  they  are  not 
likely  to  average  longer  in  service.  That  the  new  cars  to  replace  this 
equipment,  with  but  very  few  exceptions,  will  be  largely  of  metal  is  a 
foregone  conclusion. 

For  the  bodies  of  box  cars  no  satisfactory  substitute  for  wood  has  yet 
been  accepted,  though  we  can  look  with  considerable  confidence  to  the 
chemist  and  metallurgist  to  furnish  some  combination  of  metal  and 
asbestos,  or  other  fibrous  material  aside  from  wood,  to  meet  the  purpose. 
Many  experiments  are  now  being  made  along  these  lines.  We  must 
also  look  to  the  chemist  and  metallurgist  to  improve  the  quality  of  metal 
for  car  construction,  which  thus  far  has  not  been  entirely  satisfactory. 
Compounds  and  alloys  will  no  doubt  be  forthcoming  to  raise  the  standard 
to  meet  requirements  of  maximum  strength  and  minimum  weight,  that 
will  permit  the  construction  of  cars  and  locomotives  of  the  greatest  pos- 
sible strength  and  least  proportion  of  dead  weight  for  the  limited  space 
available  for  their  operation. 

Assuming  that  in  the  future  but  little  wood  will  be  used  in  the  con- 
struction of  cars  and  locomotives,  the  railroads  will  still  be  greatly  inter- 
ested in  the  question  of  timber  supply,  for  much  lumber  will  still  be  needed 
to  meet  their  varying  requirements,  and  as  produce  carriers  they  would 
be  vitally  interested  in  the  protection  of  forests  and  water  conservation. 

Dr  W.  F.  M.  Goss,  in  a  recent  address  before  the  American  Society  of 
Mechanical  Engineers,  in  New  York,  stated  that  at  present  there  are 
51,000  locomotives  in  service,  burning  nearly  100,000,000  tons  of  coal 
per  year.  This  is  an  enormous  amount,  and  the  opportunities  for 
radical  changes  in  locomotive  construction  are  few,  owing  to  the  limita- 
tions in  dimensions  and  weight,  and  it  seems  that  efforts  to  develop 
more  economical  machines  must  necessarily  be  confined  toward  securing 
the  most  perfect  construction  and  maintenance  of  existing  designs,  with 
the  possibility  of  accomplishing  something  in  the  direction  of  feed  water 
heating,  compounding  and  superheating,  although  the  additional  expense 
thus  far  encountered  in  the  mechanism  of  these  devices  has  largely 
offset,  along  practical  lines,  the  economies  sought.     Strenuous  conditions 

(407) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


of  railroading  for  several  years  past  have  confined  the  efforts  of  all 
departments,  and  particularly  the  mechanical,  to  maintaining  equipment 
in  condition  to  meet  current  requirements,  leaving  no  time  for  what 
be  classed  as  •'refinements,"  under  which  head  might  be  considered 
feed-water  heating,  compounding  and  superheating,  and  it  is  doubtful  if 
much  can  be  done  in  this  direction  under  the  more  moderate  conditions 
now  prevailing,  for  as  revenue  decreases  from  various  causes  the 
nea  of  reducing  expenses  to  conform  predominates,  and  funds  are 

not  available  for  betterments  along  unproven  lines. 

Stationary  and  marine  practice  afford  better  opportunities  in  this  respect, 
though  also  circumscribed.  The  reciprocating  and  turbine  engines  seem 
to  have  about  reached  their  maximum  efficiency,  and  about  the  only 
field  remaining  open  for  important  development  is  in  the  line  of  gas 
producing  and  internal  combustion.  As  there  still  remains  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  thermal  content  of  coal  unaccounted  for,  fortune  and 
ie  await  the  engineer  who  succeeds  in  corralling  these  straggling  units. 

The  President's  efforts  to  awaken  the  People  to  the  importance  of  pro- 
tecting growing  timber,  and  encouraging  the  planting  of  young  forests, 
should  and  will  command  the  hearty  support  of  all  thoughtfnl  persons 
and  lead  to  earnest  cooperation  in  this  direction.     There  are  usually 
parts  of  any  tract  of  land  that  are  not  suitable  for  general  cultivation, 
but  would  successfully  nourish  trees  if  properly  worked,  and  with  but 
little  effort  and  expense  the  ordinary  farmer,  equipped  with  the  usual 
farming  implements,  could  plant  these  places  with  trees  of  varieties  that 
uld  soon  develop  and  prove  valuable  for  various  purposes,  and  hardly 
realize  the  exertion.     I  speak  from  experience  in  this  connection,  as  I  have 
had  planted  with  trees,  in  then  barren  districts  of  the  Middle  West,  two 
l<  ik\  properties  and  one  Government  timber  claim,  and  enjoyed  the 
>f  action  of  seeing  them  reach  proportions  of  gratifying  dimensions 
and  considerable  value  in  a  period  of  10  years;  and  it  only  requires  the 
interest  that  is  now  being  awakened  along  these  lines  to  reclaim, 
beautify,  and  bring  to  a  producing  stage  many  a  tract  now  unsightly  and 
unproductive. 

THE  PRESERVATION  OF  SCENIC  BEAUTY 
rBORGE  l'"-  Kunz,  Ph.   D. 

j'Hi  OS     THB     AMERICAN     SCENIC     AND     HISTORIC     PRESERVATION 

SOCIETY 

In  behalf  of  the  American  Scenic  and  Historic  Preservation  Society, 
and  of  the  wid<  public  sentiment  which  it  represents,  I  desire  to 

;  reciatioil  of  the  broad  national  spirit   mani 

(408) 


Statement  by  Dr  George  F.  Kunz 


fested  by  the  President  of  the  United  States  in  calling  together  this  nota- 
ble Conference  on  the  Conservation  of  Natural  Resources,  and  in  includ- 
ing within  the  scope  of  its  consideration  the  subject  of  the  preservation 
of  the  natural  scenery  and  the  historic  memorials  of  our  great  country. 

The  intimate  and  physical  connection  of  these  subjects  is  almost  self- 
evident.  The  great  forces  of  nature  which  have  created  the  mineral 
wealth  stored  beneath  the  surface  of  the  earth,  which  have  carved  the 
hollows  and  valleys  in  which  our  lakes  lie  and  our  streams  flow,  which 
have  lifted  up  our  mountain  ranges  and  which  have  made  the  soil  that 
feeds  our  forests  and  crops,  are  the  same  forces  that  have  made  the 
diversity  of  topography  called  scenery,  which  delights  the  eye,  stirs  the 
imagination,  and  reveals  to  the  wondering  mind  the  operation  of  the 
beneficent  Power  which  provides  all.  And  topography,  in  its  turn,  has 
from  the  advent  of  man  profoundly  affected  his  movements,  his  life,  and 
his  development;  and  thus,  for  many  reasons  which  there  is  no  time  here 
to  elaborate,  human  history  has  ever  been  identified  with  conspicuous 
features  of  the  natural  landscape. 

In  advocating  in  this  Conference  the  protection  of  American  scenery, 
I  would  deprecate  the  notion  that  there  is  an  irreconcilable  antagonism 
between  the  idea  of  scenic  preservation  and  the  idea  of  properly  utilizing 
the  material  resources,  or  that  there  is  some  irrepressible  conflict  between 
so-called  sentimentalism  on  the  one  hand  and  utilitarianism  on  the  other. 
Every  interest  represented  in  this  Conference  is  looking  forward  to  the 
same  object — the  greatest  happiness  and  good  of  the  greatest  number — 
and  that  object  is  going  to  be  attained  best  by  friendly  cooperation,  by 
mutual  adjustments,  and  by  reasonable  concessions  when  necessary. 

The  purpose  of  the  Scenic  Society,  as  our  organization  is  called  for 
brevity,  is  to  encourage  the  regard  for  the  beautiful  without  the  slightest 
desire  to  check  the  development  of  forests,  mines  or  railroads  or  the 
rational  utilization  of  water  for  power,  irrigation,  or  municipal  use.  But 
it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  there  are  many  factors  of  human  happiness. 
In  the  lowest  status  of  savagery,  in  which  man  is  nearest  to  the  beasts  of 
the  field,  his  happiness  depends  almost  exclusively  upon  the  ministration 
to  his  bodily  wants.  But  as  he  lifts  himself  up  through  the  middle  and 
upper  stages  of  savagery,  and  through  the  three  stages  of  barbarism  into 
the  various  degrees  of  civilization,  a  new  element  of  happiness  enters  in 
increasing  proportion  into  his  existence.  In  this  rise,  with  its  accom- 
panying intellectual  development,  man's  thoughts  constantly  range 
farther  and  farther  from  the  narrow  limits  of  his  own  body  for  satisfaction, 
and,  while  the  meeting  of  his  physical  wants  is  the  first  and  cardinal 
necessity,  after  that  end  has  been  attained  he  is  not  satisfied  until  other 
appetites  of  his  being  have  been  fed. 

The  wholesome  pleasure  which  one  derives  from  the  contemplation  of 
the  beautiful  and  wonderful  in  nature  is  one  of  the  accompaniments  of 


(409) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

our  civilization.  We  can  not  get  rid  of  it  if  we  would;  and  we  would  not 
if  we  could.  It  makes  us  better  citizens,  happier  citizens,  more  efficient 
citizens.  It  is  a  fact  of  human  nature  to  be  honestly  recognized  and 
properlv  ministered  to,  and  not  to  be  put  aside  as  empty  sentimentalism 
any  more  than  the  utilization  of  the  physical  resources  of  the  land  is  to 
be  set  down  in  contempt  as  commercial  utilitarianism. 

Our  object  should  therefore  be  to  see  how  closely  we  can  get  together 
so  as  to  merge  our  interests  for  the  common  good;  and  it  is  at  this  point 
we  find  the  necessity  of  some  judicial  power  higher  than  the  individual 
to  weigh  the  merits  of  conflicting  interests  involved  in  a  given  proposi- 
tion. There  are  occasions,  for  instance,  when  the  net  value  to  the  com- 
munity at  large  of  damming  a  given  stream  at  a  given  place  may  not  be 
truthfully  expressed  in  the  dollars  and  cents  gained  by  the  enterprise. 
It  may  be  found,  when  all  considerations  are  balanced,  that  the  location 
of  the  enterprise  farther  up  stream  or  farther  down  stream,  or  on  some 
other  stream,  or  its  prevention  altogether,  may  conduce  to  the  greatest 
good  of  the  greatest  number.  Hence  the  necessity  for  regulation  by 
some  branch  of  Government  representing  all  interests,  and  it  is  proper 
that  the  spirit  of  order  should  be  invoked  to  regulate  the  destruction 
or  disfigurement  of  trees,  rocks,  river  banks,  and  other  notable  features 
of  the  landscape. 

We  have  seen  that  there  is  no  more  valuable  agency  than  that  of  the 
scenic  beauty  of  the  forests,  of  the  mountains,  and  of  the  rivers  and 
their  banks  toward  the  creation  of  an  esthetic  taste  and  a  love  of  the 
beautiful  in  the  average  mind.  For  this  reason  such  objects  of  natural 
beauty  should  be  carefully  guarded  from  injury  or  destruction.  Never- 
theless all  along  the  line  of  the  Hudson  River  valley,  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  in  the  world,  with  its  majestic,  deep  and  silent  river,  almost 
the  entire  right  bank  has  been  shorn  away  by  the  building  of  a  great 
railroad.  Much  of  the  injury  done  may  be  attributed  to  a  lack  of  knowl- 
edge as  to  the  value  of  landscape  beauty  at  the  time  the  franchise  was 
given;  but  when  we  see  that  the  beautiful  bay  near  Croton  Point  is  now 
being  filled  in  by  a  six-track  road,  and  that  a  power-house  lies  within 
the  shadow  of  the  famous  Van  Cortlandt  manor,  we  pause  to  wonder 
whether,  if  this  railroad  had  been  built  one  or  two  miles  farther  in  the 
interior  from  the  bank,  it  would  not  have  been  a  greater  public  benefit 
than  ii  is  now,  and  whether,  at  the  same  time,  a  better  sendee  would 
not  be  given  to  the  people  who  are  now  compelled  to  haul  everything 
uphill  for  a  <  onsiderable  distance. 

In  Europe  one  set-,  everywhere  grass  or  fields  up  to  the  very  edge  of 
the  railroad.  There  is  an  absolute  lack  of  the  ash-heaps,  the  piles  of 
timber,  and  the  general  appearance  of  devastation  that  disfigure  the 
lines  of  most  of  our  American  railroads,  as  well  as  the  stations.     In  this 

(410) 


Statement  by  Dr  George  F.  Kunz 


connection  the  enactment  of  some  regulation  to  check  the  pest  of  tack- 
ing, nailing,  or  otherwise  securing  to  the  shade  trees  along  the  roads, 
advertising  signs  made  of  wood,  tin,  cloth,  paper,  etc.,  is  a  matter  that 
should  be  seriously  taken  up  by  some  one.  An  effort  should  also  be 
made  to  improve  the  looks  of  large  manufacturing  plants  and  yards  by 
inducing  their  owners  properly  to  heap  up  or  house  the  tin  cans,  gar- 
bage, and  ash-heaps  that  are  frequently  a  menace  to  the  public  health 
and  are  gathering  places  for  rats,  mice,  and  vermin  of  all  kinds.  In 
the  vicinity  of  quarries  and  mines  also,  a  certain  amount  of  care  should 
be  used  in  the  dumping  of  materials,  so  as  to  preserve  as  much  as  possible 
the  natural  beauty  of  the  country. 

The  face  of  the  Palisades,  the  cliffs  known  as  the  steep  rocks,  form 
one  of  the  grandest  objects  of  scenic  beauty  near  any  great  city.  They 
would  not  be  of  much  value  for  any  commercial  purpose,  but  as  an  asset 
in  increasing  the  worth  of  property  on  the  New  York  side  of  the  Hudson 
river  they  are  of  incalculable  value.  These  thirteen  miles,  if  despoiled, 
would  have  lowered  the  worth  of  the  property  of  the  New  York  side  at 
least  $10,000,000.  On  the  other  hand,  with  a  proper  system  of  forestry 
this  land  should  bring  in  enough  revenue  to  defray  all  the  expense  for 
its  care.  These  Palisades  were  saved  from  destruction  by  the  State  of 
New  York,  through  the  initial  step  taken  by  one  of  our  foremost  citi- 
zens, Mr  J.  Pierpont  Morgan,  who  has  always  been  ready  to  save  an  object 
of  beauty,  whether  the  product  of  nature  or  art  a  painting,  a  mineral 
collection,  or  anything  of  public  interest. 

Stony  Point  Park  was  dedicated  three  years  ago,  and  to  the  surprise 
of  our  then  Governor,  Mr  Odell,  twenty  thousand  people  gathered  on  a 
single  day  to  witness  the  dedication  of  a  park  that  had  cost  only  thirtv 
thousand  dollars.  This  reservation  serves  not  only  as  a  historic  re- 
minder of  the  King's  Ferry  and  of  General  Wayne's  victory,  but  it  is 
also  for  us  a  beauty  spot  which  is  visited  annually  by  thousands,  one  of 
the  few  parks  we  have  within  a  radius  of  quite  a  number  of  miles. 

We  have  now  to  deal  with  the  problem  of  a  Hudson  Highlands  Park, 
embracing  the  highlands  of  the  Hudson,  that  beautiful  group  of  moun- 
tains through  the  center  of  which  flows  the  queen  of  the  northern  waters. 
Many  thousands  of  acres  of  this  wonderful  woodland  can  be  bought  for 
less  than  the  cost  of  stumpage.  Were  this  land  condemned  and  system- 
atically purchased,  it  could  be  obtained  at  from  ten  to  twenty  dollars 
per  acre.  If  great  tracts  were  acquired  and  placed  under  Federal  super- 
vision, such  a  reservation  ought  to  form  a  valuable  asset  as  timber  land 
and  possibly  would  prove  a  welcome  source  of  supply  in  times  of  timber 
need  in  the  very  near  future.  In  addition  to  this,  the  increase  of  the 
value  of  property  far  and  near  would  be  an  inevitable  result. 

We  must  also  remember  that  the  establishment  of  State  or  National 
parks  and  reservations  tends  to  give  a  much-needed  shelter  to  "the 


(4") 
56254—09 29 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


denizens  of  flood  and  field."  Reliable  historians  tell  us  that  buffaloes 
roamed  in  Virginia  one  hundred  years  ago.  Fifty  years  ago  there  were 
so  many  wild  pigeons  in  the  woods  on  my  farm  that  two  dozen  could 
easily  have  been  killed  in  an  hour's  shooting.  And  yet  in  the  fifteen 
rs  of  my  residence  there  not  a  single  wild  pigeon  have  I  ever  seen. 
About  the  same  time  the  New  York  Historical  Society  celebrated  its 
fiftieth  anniversary.  They  had  a  day's  festivities  at  the  Astor  House, 
and  their  bill  of  fare  still  exists.  This  was  before  the  days  of  cold  storage, 
and  game  and  fish  were  not  shipped  great  distances;  nevertheless,  the 
dinner  given  in  honor  of  this  anniversary  contains  as  many  as  twenty 
kinds  of  game  to  select  from,  and  fifteen  or  twenty  kinds  of  fish.  These 
were  all  obtained  within  a  few  hours  of  New  York  City.     What  has 

become  of  them? 

To  preserve  what  is  left  us  of  the  life  that  helped  to  give  color  and 
movement  to  the  landscape  there  must  be  Government  supervision,  for 
there  are  those  who  would  kill  the  peacock  on  your  lawn;  who  would 
kill  the  only  heron  on  your  brook;  who  would  kill  every  squirrel  or  bird 
that  flies,  leaving  a  lonely  waste  where  formerly  there  was  cheerful, 
beautiful  life.  It  is  this  desire  to  kill,  this  spirit  of  wanton  destruction, 
that  must  be  suppressed  as  there  are  laws  to  prevent  the  killing  of  man. 
Such  is  the  spirit  of  prodigal  waste  in  regard  to  our  natural  resources 
that  it  has  in  some  cases  almost  entirely  obliterated  them.  A  similar 
ruthless  disregard  of  beauty  in  the  pursuit  of  mere  temporary  advantage 
has  turned  the  Hudson  river  into  a  sewer  and  a  cess-pool.  On  an  unusu- 
ally hot  day,  a  few  years  ago,  I  noted  thousands  of  eels  dead  in  the 
water  all  the  way  from  Peekskill  to  New  York,  showing  how  putrid  the 
water  was  a  few  feet  from  the  shore. 

A  convincing  example  of  the  practical  utility  of  efforts  to  do  away 
with  what  is  ugly  and  to  substitute  therefor  beauty  and  order,  is  afforded 
by  the  wonderful  transformation  of  Paris  under  the  Second  Empire. 
Napoleon  III,  after  consulting  with  Baron  Hausmann,  his  architect, 
arranged  that  one  of  the  most  unattractive  districts  of  Paris  should  be 
condemned  by  the  Government  and  replaced  by  the  magnificent  Avenue 
de  l'<  )pera,  with  its  Grand  Opera  House  for  a  starting  point  and  the 
Louvre  for  a  termination.  This  added  millions  of  dollars  to  the  taxable 
assets  of  Paris  and  gave  that  city  the  greatest  avenue  in  France,  making 
Paris  30  beautiful  that  millions  annually  are  left  there  by  visitors  who  are 
attracted  from  far  and  near. 

Modern  Paris  offers  us  another  instance.  Some  thirty  years  ago, 
there  was  in  thai  city  a  great  lime  quarry  known  as  the  Buttes  Chau- 
mont  ;  it  was  riddled  with  quarry  holes  and  small  caves,  and  during  the 
Commune  it  was  a  very  hotbed  of  the  worst  type  of  anarchists  and 
dynamiters,  the  entire  neighborhood  around  it  being  of  a  very  low  order. 

(412) 


Statement  by  Dr  George  F.  Kunz 


The  French  Government  condemned  this  quarry  and  set  some  landscape 
artists  to  work,  and  the  resulting  improvement  has  converted  it  into  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  parks  in  any  great  city.  The  caves  have  been 
turned  into  passages  and  stairways,  the  deep  quarry  holes  into  lakes, 
and  a  spirit  of  beautiful  natural  order  prevails  that  makes  a  visit  to  it  a 
great  pleasure.  Incidentally,  the  entire  value  of  the  adjoining  property 
for  quite  a  distance  has  been  greatly  advanced,  resulting  in  a  higher 
valuation  and  a  corresponding  increase  in  the  tax  received  by  the  munici- 
pality of  Paris.  In  addition  to  a  very  real  and  substantial  gain,  such 
improvements  not  only  stimulate  the  esthetic  sense  in  a  citizen  but  also 
inspire  him  with  an  ardent  love  of  his  home.  Not  only  in  Paris  but  in 
rural  France  also  we  can  note  the  advantages  of  striving  rather  to  enhance 
than  to  diminish  natural  beauties,  for  it  is  well  known  that,  no  matter 
how  poor  a  Frenchman's  village  may  be,  it  is  so  beautiful  that  few 
Frenchmen  ever  leave  home.  It  seems  almost  unnecessary  to  allude  to 
the  care  taken  of  every  beautiful  site  in  England,  Italy,  Germany,  Hol- 
land, and  Switzerland,  and  these  countries  receive  a  full  pecuniary 
reward  for  the  attention  bestowed  upon  such  matters,  although  this  may 
not  be  the  sole  and  only  object  in  view. 

But  it  is  not  necessary  for  us  to  go  abroad  for  examples,  if  such  be 
required.  During  three  months  in  1907,  the  New  York  Central  Railroad 
derived  nearly  $200,000  in  fares  on  account  of  its  Niagara  business  alone. 
Since  the  establishment  of  the  New  York  State  Reservation  at  Niagara 
in  1885,  15,000,000  persons  from  all  parts  of  the  world  have  visited  that 
great  spectacle.  The  establishment  of  the  free  reservation  has  saved 
these  visitors,  at  a  moderate  estimate,  an  average  of  one  dollar  per  capita 
which  they  used  to  pay  when  the  Falls  wrere  shut  in  by  board  fences  and 
fees  were  charged  for  admission  to  the  various  view-points.  And  who 
can  compute  the  amount  of  money  brought  into  the  State  and  left  here 
in  the  hotels  and  stores  by  tourists  drawn  from  the  four  quarters  of  the 
earth? 

In  the  Adirondack  Park  there  is  between  $10,000,000  and  $15,000,000 
invested  in  hotels,  boarding-houses,  private  camps  and  cottages,  which 
have  nothing  to  do  with  the  utilitarian  aspects  of  the  forests.  Employ- 
ment is  given  to  about  15,000  clerks  and  helpers  of  all  kinds  who  received 
during  the  short  summer  season  about  $1,000,000  in  wages.  Hotel 
guests  spend  between  $5,000,000  and  $6,000,000  a  season  there,  and  the 
passenger  traffic  alone  on  the  railroads  amounts  to  over  $1,000,000.  A 
large  proportion  of  this  income  is  derived  from  visitors  from  other  States 
and  countries. 

It  is  evident  from  these  few  figures  close  at  home  that  a  compilation  of 
statistics  which  would  include  the  Yellowstone,  the  Grand  Canyon,  the 
Petrified  Forests,  the  Yosemite,  and  the  other  scenic  attractions  of  the 


(413) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


United  States,  large  and  small,  far  and  near,  would  reveal,  in  terms 
which  could  not  be  misunderstood,  the  powerful  and  pervading  desire 
of  people  to  see  and  commune  with  the  beauties  of  nature,  their  willing- 
ness to  pay  for  the  privilege,  either  directly  out  of  their  individual  pockets 
or  indirectly  by  taxation,  and  the  pecuniary  advantage  to  the  locality 
which  fosters  this  sentiment.  The  same  rule  applies  all  the  way  down 
from  the  cardinal  features  of  our  national  domain  to  the  city  park,  the 
village  green  or  the  individual  door-yard.  That  town  or  home  is  most 
valuable  which  looks  neatest  and  best,  which  is  most  attractive  to  the 
dweller,  which  quiets  his  nerves  and  his  body  by  making  most  pleasing 
impressions  on  his  senses. 

Scenic  beauty,  therefore,  is  a  real  value,  and  while  its  preservation 
should  not  be  worshipped  as  a  fetish  and  no  fanaticism  should  carry  its 
advocates  to  the  extreme  of  opposing  crying  public  needs  for  physical 
development,  commercial  enterprise  on  the  other  hand  should  take 
respectful  cognizance  of  it  as  an  actual  and  substantial  fact  and  should 
not  wantonly  destroy  the  public's  scenic  right. 

Scenic  objects  are  frequently  preserved  because  of  their  historic  value. 
If  they  have  this  historic  value  and  are  also  beautiful,  they  should  be 
most  carefully  guarded,  as  have  been  Gettysburg,  the  park  at  Lookout 
Mountain,  and  Arlington  Cemetery,  the  resting  place  of  our  great  and 
illustrious  dead.  These  are  not  only  historical;  they  are  also  beautiful. 
They  give  a  home  feeling  to  the  citizen  that  serves  to  make  him  a  better 
American,  and  in  time  of  war  will  add  to  his  stability  and  enable  him  to 
march  the  Nation's  flag  on  to  victory. 

Give  us  enough  beautiful  parks,  such  as  the  great  reservation  at  Niag- 
ara, the  Yellowstone  Park,  the  Yosemite  Valley,  the  Agatized  Forest, 
the  great  trees  of  California,  Letchworth  Park  Gorge,  Watkins  Glen,  the 
park  around  Bunker  Hill  Monument,  and  numbers  of  others.  Give  us 
good  roads  to  connect  these;  establish  proper  food  supplies  in  the  form 
of  comfortable  hotels,  and  millions  of  dollars  will  remain  here  to  increase 
the  amount  of  the  Nation's  assets  and  to  be  a  continued  and  recurrent 
BOUTCe  of  income  to  the  many. 

Many  thousands  visit  Alaska.  Do  they  make  this  journey  to  see  the 
mines,  01  to  see  the  wondrous  beauties  of  the  semi-Arctic  dependency  of 
our  Government  ?  Give  a  free  hand  to  a  certain  number  of  mine  owners 
or  prospectors  or  hunters,  who  have  no  thought  for  anything  but  the 
pn  'nt,  and  even  a  vast  region  like  Alaska  can  be  devastated  by  the 
recklessness  of  those  who  will  wantonly  fell  trees,  or  carelessly  expose 
th<  in  to  become  fired,  thus  allowing  waste  and  destruction  to  follow  in 
t  In  ir  pat  li.  W'lin  ha  !  not  seen  t  housands  of  acres  of  land  simply  stripped 
of  it  a  best  tinil.i  i  '  Everything  is  littered  with  the  wreckage  of  the  devas- 
tators; whereas,  if  some  judgment  had  been  used  in  cutting  even  as  much 

(41 1 1 


Statement  by  Dr  George  F.  Kunz 


as  nine-tenths  of  the  timber  and  guarding  the  remainder  for  five  or  ten 
years,  an  income  might  have  been  derived  from  what  ultimately  becomes 
nothing  but  a  jungle,  unless  by  chance  a  city  site  is  located  on  the  land. 

There  are  many  who  will  never  have  a  sentimental  thrill  and  who  would 
remove  or  destroy  Niagara  if  they  could  thereby  clear  a  profit  of  only  5%. 
While  at  Mammoth  Cave  in  1898  with  a  Brooklyn  party,  one  of  the  largest 
contractors  said  to  St.  Clair  McKelway,  whom  he  knew:  "McKelway, 
if  you  ever  own  the  county,  give  me  the  contract  to  fill  the  cave."  This 
was  said  in  good  faith  by  the  worthy  son  of  Erin,  and  there  are,  no  doubt, 
many  others  who  would  take  such  a  contract  and  begin  work  on  it  in  a 
day's  time. 

We  have  all  heard  of  the  fame  that  came  to  Bierstadt  for  his  painting 
of  the  Yosemite;  to  Church  for  his  painting  of  Niagara  Falls;  but  we, 
fortunately,  still  have  the  originals,  and  artistic  though  the  paintings  be, 
they  could  no  more  replace  those  originals  than  could  Houdon's  statue  of 
Washington  replace  or  bring  back  to  us  the  immortal  George  Washington, 
or  Saint  Gaudens'  Lincoln  or  Sherman  take  the  places  of  the  great  Presi- 
dent and  general  themselves.  The  resources  of  a  mighty  Nation  would 
be  vainly  expended  for  a  thousand  years  in  the  attempt  to  replace  Niagara 
Falls  or  the  Yosemite  Valley.  Let  us,  therefore,  cherish  and  preserve 
these  grand  works  of  Nature. 

The  intrinsic  value  of  natural  beauty  may  be  illustrated  by  a  compari- 
son with  the  worth  of  some  monuments  of  art,  since  art  is  closely  related 
to  nature,  being,  in  fact,  the  outcome  and  outward  expression  of  the 
impressions  of  natural  beauty  stored  up  for  generations  in  the  mind  of 
man.  Remove  the  Parthenon  from  Athens,  in  other  words,  sell  it  for 
what  it  is  worth  in  marble;  how  much  would  the  land  under  it  bring? 
As  it  is  today,  a  magnificent  ruin,  it  is  a  jewel  in  the  diadem  of  Greece, 
the  central  point  in  her  coronet;  a  spot  for  which  every  nation  in  the 
world  has  the  greatest  admiration. 

It  is  true  that  in  Rome  some  rows  of  buildings  were  erected  from  ma- 
terials taken  in  the  despoliation  of  the  Coliseum,  and  it  is  also  true  that 
from  what  is  left  of  that  structure  more  buildings  could  be  erected,  while 
the  land  could  be  utilized  for  building  purposes.  But  what  would  Rome 
be  without  her  Coliseum?  Not  only  is  it  a  magnificent  ruin,  but  it  em- 
bodies the  very  life  of  the  ancient  Romans;  it  is  the  apotheosis  of  the 
might  and  greatness  of  a  nation  which  once  held  virtually  all  of  the  civ- 
ilized world.  We  may  also  cite  a  much  more  modest  example,  the  Al- 
brecht  Durer  house  in  Nuremberg.  This  probably  does  not  represent  a 
value  of  $20,000,  commercially,  but  what  an  asset  in  the  resources  of  that 
quaint  old  city,  and  what  a  tribute  it  is  to  the  artist  whose  work  will  be 
immortal ! 

Oscar  Wilde  showed  his  ignorance  when  he  said  to  an  American  lady, 
in  criticism  of  this  country:  "You  have  no  ruins."     The  ladv's  clever 


(415) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


reply,  "We  import  them,"  was  unnecessary,  as  we  have  ruins  as  historic 
and' as  grand  as  many  in  England.  Take,  for  instance,  Casa  Grande, 
the  hundreds  of  cliff  dwellings,  Jamestown  Island,  and  the  buildings  at 
Williamsburg,  Virginia,  and  St.  Augustine.  Then  we  have  the  many 
buildings  in  Salem,  Boston,  and  other  New  England  and  Eastern  cities; 
as,  :  imple,  the  house  of  Paul  Revere,  and  the  Hawthorne  house  in 

m;  besides  these,  we  have  the  Verplanck  house  in  which  the  Society 
of  the  Cincinnati  had  its  birth,  the  old  missions  in  California,  and  dozens 
of  others.  All  these  mementoes  of  our  past  need  care;  we  have  ruins, 
but  we  must  save  and  conserve  them.  Then  our  country  can  point  with 
pride  to  its  antiquities,  many  of  which  are  as  old,  while  some  even  ante- 
date the  historic  monuments  of  England. 

Let  us  look  to  Japan,  our  new  world  power,  and  see  how,  for  centuries, 
the  Japanese  have  taken  their  rocky  crags  and  untillable  soil  and  have 
turned  them  into  sheep  pastures.  How  they  encourage  native  endeavor! 
They  never  disturb  even  a  bit  of  moss.  Their  rock  gardens,  natural  and 
artificial,  at  times  created  at  great  expense,  are  the  most  charming  and 
restful  in  the  world.  There  are  ten  thousand  acres  of  such  land  within 
a  radius  of  fifty  miles  of  New  York,  neglected  and  never  noticed,  that 
would  be  of  great  value  if  once  its  possibilities  were  understood  and 

appreciated. 

We  have  wasted  our  forests  and  the  stores  of  our  mines,  our  water 
powers  and  waterways ;  we  have  been  extravagant  to  an  extreme.  Hotels 
can  not  be  found  luxurious  enough ;  books  that  our  fathers  carried  in  their 
pockets  have  been  issued  in  editions  de  luxe  and  sell  for  $1,000  a  copy, 
requiring  several  cubic  feet  of  shelf  room  for  a  resting  place.     This  waste 

called  a  halt  in  commerce.  Our  railroads  are  clogged,  not  taxed  to 
their  utmost;  our  presses  are  worn  out  printing  share  certificates,  and  a 
spirit  of  lawlessness,  almost  parallel  to  that  of  imperial  Rome  before  its 
downfall,  is  apparent  in  many  places.     But  we  can  safely  trust  to  the 

Qtial  soundness  of  our  civilization  and  to  the  sterling  common  sense 
of  our  people.  Whatever  may  happen  to  the  superstructure,  the  founda- 
tion '•'•alls  of  our  society  and  of  our  Government  are  too  well  laid  to  be 
overthrown. 

There  are  a  hundred  scenic  sites  in  our  great  public  domain  of 
i.|S/KXD,ooo  acres  that  it  would  not  cost  us  a  penny  to  set  aside,  and  if 
they  an  once  reserved  for  scenic  and  forestry  use,  the  value  of  the  ad- 
joining land  will  be  greatly  enhanced.  We  must  proceed  at  once  to  pre- 
Berve  for  our  own  use,  for  our  children's  use,  and  for  posterity,  those  gifts 
of  nature  that  will  make  our  country  a  beautiful  as  well  as  a  great  one, 
if  we  can  conserve  our  Nation's  scenic  resources. 

The  St;it.  <,f  New  York  has  appropriated  $162,000  to  be  used  by  the 
Hudson-Fulton  Commission  to  celebrate  the  three  hundredth  anniver- 


Statement  by  Dr  George  F.  Kunz 


sary  of  the  discovery  of  Hudson  river  and  the  one  hundredth  anniver- 
sary of  the  introduction  of  navigation  by  steam,  the  inventor  of  which 
was  Robert  Fulton.  Several  societies  and  other  interests  in  New  York 
propose  to  dedicate  some  scenic  and  historic  site  on  that  date.  The 
discovery  of  Hudson  river  had  a  permanent  influence  on  the  progress  of 
the  Nation,  as  the  Hudson  valley,  with  the  Erie  canal,  gave  an  outlet  to 
the  Great  Lakes;  but  steam  navigation,  of  even  greater  significance  than 
this,  gave  to  the  whole  world  a  mode  of  water  locomotion  of  a  swiftness 
and  independence  undreamed  of  before,  for  who  had  ever  conceived  the 
idea  of  a  boat  whose  speed  was  not  governed  by  the  winds? 

Therefore,  if  every  Governor  of  these  United  States  could  mark  the 
hundredth  anniversary  of  steam  navigation  by  setting  aside  some  site  of 
scenic  beauty,  especially  one  of  historic  value  also,  our  Nation  will  have 
made  a  distinct  advance. 

While  the  operations  of  the  American  Scenic  and  Historic  Preserva- 
tion Society  are  national  in  their  scope,  it  may  be  of  interest  to  mention 
briefly  what  New  York  has  done,  either  through  Government  or  individual 
generosity,  to  preserve  the  scenery  and  the  historic  landmarks  of  the 
Empire  State. 

The  movement  in  that  State  appears  to  have  begun  in  1849  with  the 
purchase  of  Washington's  Headquarters  in  Newburgh,  overlooking  the 
Hudson.  The  property  includes  the  house  and  six  acres  of  land,  and 
from  1849  to  1907,  inclusive,  the  State  has  spent  $120,659  in  acquisition 
and  maintenance. 

In  1883  and  1885  the  State  acquired  412  acres  of  land  and  land  under 
water  at  Niagara  Falls,  and,  deducting  the  income  from  certain  conces- 
sions, has  spent  upon  the  property  the  net  sum  of  $2,166,605  up  to  this 
year. 

In  1887  it  acquired  the  venerable  Senate  House  at  Kingston,  on 
Hudson  river.     This  has  cost  the  State  thus  far  $38,040. 

In  1895  the  State  acquired  by  gift  the  old  John  Brown  farm  in  the 
Adirondack's,  comprising  243  acres  of  picturesque  and  historic  property, 
where  now  "John  Brown's  body  lies  a-mouldering  in  the  grave." 

In  1896  the  State  assumed  the  maintenance  of  the  Grant  Cottage  on 
Mount  MacGregor. 

_  In  1897  it  bought  34  acres  of  the  Stony  Point  Battlefield  on  Hudson 
nver,  made  memorable  by  Mad  Anthony  Wayne's  famous  midnight 
exploit,  and  placed  it  under  the  administration  of  the  Scenic  Society 
The  State  has  spent  $40,500  on  the  property,  and  the  contributions  of 
our  Society  and  the  Daughters  of  the  Revolution  to  its  improvement 
amount  to  $8,000  more. 

In  1898  and  1900  the  State  purchased  35  acres  of  the  Lake  George 
Battlefield,  and  has  spent  $23,000  upon  it,  while  the  Society  of  Colonial 
Wars  has  added  a  $7,000  monument. 

(417) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


In  1900  the  State  cooperated  with  New  Jersey  in  creating  the  Inter- 
state Palisades  Park  for  preserving  the  Palisades  of  the  Hudson.  The 
State  has  spent  on  this  work  $410,000,  to  which  the  Honorary  President 
of  the  Scenic  Society,  Mr  J.  P.  Morgan,  added  $122,500. 

In  1900  the  State  purchased  the  old  Gov  Clinton  House  in  Pough- 
keepsie,  upon  which  it  has  spent  $6,700. 

In  1903  it  acquired  by  gift  Spy  Island,  an  historic  spot  on  the  edge 
of  Lake  Ontario  in  Oswego  county. 

In  1904  it  bought  old  Fort  Brewerton  at  the  foot  of  Oneida  Lake, 
for  a  few  hundred  dollars,  and  put  it  in  the  custody  of  the  Scenic 
Society. 

In  1906  it  acquired  Sir  Wm.  Johnson's  old  blockhouse,  mansion  and  18 
acres  of  ground  in  Johnstown,  and  has  spent  $26,500  on  the  property. 

In  1906  it  acquired  103  acres  at  the  head  of  Seneca  Lake  embracing 
the  famous  Watkins  Glen,  and  entrusted  it  to  our  administration.  For 
purchase  and  improvement  the  State  has  appropriated  about  $90,000. 

In  1907  Hon.  William  Pryor  Letchworth,  of  Portage,  who  has  devoted 
his  life  to  philanthropy,  gave  to  the  State  through  our  Society  his  superb 
estate  of  1,000  acres  on  the  upper  Genesee  river,  embracing  the  three 
Portage  Falls.  This  property,  upon  which  he  has  already  spent  over 
$500,000  and  contemplates  spending  more,  is  entrusted  to  the  care  of 
our  Society. 

And  coming  down  to  the  year  1908,  Mrs  Wm.  F.  Cochran  of  Yonkers 
has  given  through  us  to  the  State  the  sum  of  $55,000  for  the  preservation 
of  the  celebrated  Phillipse  Manor  Hall  in  Yonkers,  one  of  the  most 
ancient  and  interesting  antiquities  of  the  Hudson  valley. 

If  time  permitted,  I  could  extend  the  list  by  adding  the  gift  of  four 
parks  to  the  city  of  Utica  by  Thomas  R.  Proctor,  a  trustee  of  this  Society, 
and  of  the  gift  of  the  Fort  Lee  site  on  the  Palisades  to  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment by  Dr  James  Douglas,  another  member;  but  this  brief  and 
inadequate  recapitulation  is  enough  to  show  what  the  State  Government 
and  individuals  in  New  York  have  done  to  demonstrate  their  faith  in  the 
value  of  Scenic  and  Historic  Preservation. 

Since  it  has  been  demonstrated  that  our  national  scenery  has  a  value, 
it  follows  as  a  corollary  that  it  should  not  be  mutilated  or  disfigured, 
□  in  case  of  necessity,  without  securing  proper  compensation  to  the 
public  whose  scenic  interest  is  thereby  depreciated.  The  State  of  New 
York  too  long  ignored  l  his  principle  in  giving  away  gratuitously  to 
private  corporations  the  waters  of  Niagara  Falls,  worth  millions  of 
dollars,  materially  lessening  the  picturesqueness  of  the  Falls  and  their 
environment.  The  -land  taken  by  President  Roosevelt  with  reference 
to  the  waters  of  navigable  streams  of  the  country,  and  by  Governor 
Hughes  with  reference  to  the  water  powers  of  the  State  of  New  York — 

(418) 


Statement  by  Dr  George  F.  Kunz 


that  the  use  of  the  waters  shall  not  be  granted  to  private  corporations 
without  compensation — is  founded  upon  equity  and  justice. 

Niagara  Falls,  Letch  worth  Park,  the  Hudson  river,  the  Yellowstone 
Park,  the  Grand  Canyon  of  the  Colorado,  the  Agatized  Trees,  the  Giant 
Redwoods,  the  Columbia  river,  and  the  prehistoric  remains  of  the  South- 
west, are  the  poetry  of  our  possessions.  And  what  nation  is  rich  without 
a  poet,  and  what  country  has  such  grand  natural  objects  to  inspire  the 
poet  as  ours? 

We  have  other  objects  that  can  be  conserved ;  but  we  must  also  guard 
those  already  mentioned,  lest  the  water  companies  and  lumber  companies 
and  other  enterprising  promoters,  looking  to  an  immediate  return,  kill 
the  goose  that  would  otherwise  lay  perpetual  golden  eggs  for  the  country. 

I  can  not  close  this  statement  without  adding  an  expression  of  the  great 
pleasure  which  has  been  given  to  the  country  in  the  service  that  has 
been  rendered  by  the  course  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  in 
taking  under  the  Government's  protective  care  so  large  an  area  of  our 
national  forests;  and  also  by  Congressman  Burton  and  his  colleagues 
in  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  who,  by  the  passage  of  the 
National  Monuments  Act,  the  creation  of  the  International  Waterways 
Commission,  and  the  Niagara  legislation,  which  have  empowered  the 
President,  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  and  the  Secretary  of  War  to 
accomplish  so  much  for  the  preservation  of  the  antiquities  of  the  South- 
west and  some  of  the  most  notable  features  of  our  national  landscape. 

On  the  date  of  the  assemblage  of  this  Conference,  May  13,  we,  as  an 
English-speaking  people,  have  been  planted  on  this  continent  301  years. 
As  a  Nation,  we  are  131  years  old.  In  this  time,  we  have  substantially 
conquered  the  natural  asperities  of  this  rugged  continent.  We  have 
attained  a  large  degree  of  national  wealth,  a  large  degree  of  national  com- 
fort, and  a  large  degree  of  national  culture.  We  have  attained  a  stage  of 
civilization  where  we  need,  for  the  highest  development  of  our  people, 
the  conservation  of  the  natural  beauties  of  this — 

Land  of  the  Pilgrim's  pride, 
Land  where  our  fathers  died, 

of  which  we  sing  in  one  of  our  national  anthems.  May  we  go  from  this  Con- 
ference, each  to  his  own  home,  with  a  deeper  love  for  our  native  land  and 
a  stronger  determination  to  protect,  so  far  as  we  may,  her  "rocks  and 
rills,"  her  "woods  and  templed  hills,"  her  "mountain  heights"  whence 
"freedom  rings." 


(419) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


METHODS  OF  CONSERVATION 
Calvin  W.  Rice 

SECRETARY     OF     THK     AMERICAN     SOCIETY     OF     MECHANICAL     ENGINEERS 

The  Governor  of  Indiana  has  asked  a  question  which  I  think  should 
be  very  definitely  answered,  as  it  is  probable  there  are  other  gentlemen 
who  are  also  impressed  with  the  difficulties  expressed  by  him. 

For  instance,  the  Governor  asks  how  one  may  conserve  coal,  and  if  it 
is  proposed  to  stop  the  mining  of  coal.  I  answer,  absolutely  no.  The 
American  people  are  especially  quick  to  take  advantage  of  superior 
methods  of  operation  and  it  is  only  necessary  to  point  out  to  the  progres- 
sive mine  operators  that  it  is  possible,  by  improved  methods  of  mining,  to 
secure  a  greater  percentage  of  the  coal  than  they  are  now  mining.  For 
instance,  the  Governor  of  Kentucky  has  stated  that  the  average  number 
of  deaths  from  accident  in  the  mines  of  one  of  the  large  operating  com- 
panies of  his  State  is  only  one  death  per  million  tons  of  coal  as  compared 
with  six  deaths  per  million  tons  of  coal  on  the  average  in  the  United 
States.  In  order  to  secure  these  better  conditions  throughout  the 
countrv,  therefore,  it  is  only  necessary  to  assist  the  companies  in  other 
States  to  approach  the  conditions  under  which  the  company  in  Kentucky 
is  operating.  That  is  the  direct  benefit  of  this  Conference.  This  method 
mav  be  followed  in  the  conservation  of  all  our  natural  resources. 

This  whole  subject  divides  itself  naturally  into  five  parts:  First, 
inventory  of  our  resources;  second,  discussion  of  the  problem;  third, 
statement  of  remedies;  fourth,  education  of  the  people;  fifth,  legislation. 

The  spirit  of  all  investigation,  statement,  and  legislation  should  be 
constructive  rather  than  prohibitive.  That  is,  instead  of  demanding 
that  there  shall  be  no  coal  mined,  show  how  coal  can  be  mined  to  better 
advantage;  show  how  to  design  plants  which  shall  effectively  use  low 
grade-  fuels,  thus  making  a  market  for  the  coal  now  left  in  the  earth, 
benefiting  alike  the  operator,  the  miner,  and  the  user  of  coal.  This  is  the 
typical  answer  for  all  the  problems  of  this  kind. 

In  order  to  take  up  the  above  five  steps,  I  recommend  that  each  Gov- 
ernor immediately  appoint  a  commission,  composed  of  a  representative 
citizen  from  each  of  the  great  professions,  legal,  medical,  and  engineering, 
for  securing  information,  holding  hearings,  and  promoting  discussion,  and 
reporting  recommendations  to  the  Governor.  The  education  of  the 
People  can  take  place  through  such  channels  available  to  the  Governor  as 
the  public  press,  associations,  the  Legislature,  or  otherwise. 

Tin-  legislation  and  general  benefit  to  the  People  will  follow  as  a  matter 
of  course  after  this  complete  statement  before  the  public. 

(420) 


Statement  by  Dr  Charles  B.  Dudley 


THE  USE  OF  SOME  OF  THE  NATURAL  RESOURCES  OF  THE 
COUNTRY   AND   POSSIBLE   ECONOMIES   IN   THEIR   USE 

Charles  B.  Dudley,  Ph.  D. 

CHEMIST    PENNSYLVANIA    RAILROAD   COMPANY    AND   PRESIDENT    AMERICAN 

SOCIETY   FOR   TESTING    MATERIALS 

It  has  occurred  to  me  that  it  might  be  interesting,  and  possibly  throw 
a  valuable  side  light  on  some  of  the  questions  before  this  Conference,  to 
ask  what  becomes  of  the  enormous  amounts  of  coal,  lumber,  iron  ores,  etc., 
about  which  we  have  been  hearing,  and  especially  whether  there  is  any 
prospect  of  these  being  used  more  economically  in  the  future.  The 
figures  which  are  given  below  do  not  profess  to  be  a  comprehensive  answer 
to  this  question,  but  they  do  show  where  a  small  fraction  of  the  natural 
resources  of  the  country  go  every  year.  The  figures  given  represent  the 
approximate  gross  consumption  for  the  year  1906  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  System  east  and  west  of  Pittsburg,  embracing  nearly  1 1 ,000 
miles  of  railroad  and  a  little  over  23,000  miles  of  track.  In  some  of  the 
items  the  year  1907  showed  larger  gross  consumption  than  1906,  but  in 
some  respects  a  marked  diminution  has  resulted  owing  to  the  depression 
in  business  which  started  in  the  latter  part  of  1907.  At  the  present  time 
some  40%  of  the  equipment  is  idle  owing  to  the  same  cause,  with  a  con- 
sequent diminution  of  consumption,  especially  of  coal.  Strangely  enough 
the  cost  of  stationery  in  1907  was  nearly  double  that  of  1906.  Under  the 
heading  of  stationery  are  included  blanks,  blank  books  of  all  descriptions, 
record  books,  letter  heads,  copying  books,  scratch  paper,  pens,  ink, 
pencils,  rubber  bands,  etc.,  etc.  The  total  cost  for  these  items  for  1906 
was  a  little  over  $3,000,000,  while  for  1907  the  corresponding  figure  was  a 
little  short  of  five  and  three-quarter  million  dollars.  The  cause  of  this 
increase  in  stationery  with  diminishing  business  is  probably  largely  due 
to  the  new  system  of  accounts  introduced  during  the  year  by  the  Inter- 
state Commerce  Commission,  and  requests  for  statements  made  by  that 
same  body. 

Consider  next  the  item  of  lumber.  The  largest  use  of  lumber  is  for 
cross  ties,  of  which  5,162,416  were  used  during  the  year,  amounting  to 
approximately  258,000,000  feet  board  measure.  The  use  of  lumber  for 
other  purposes  is  diminishing,  especially  for  car  construction.  The 
advent  of  the  steel  freight  car,  which  is  now  being  turned  out  of  single 
works  frequently  at  the  rate  of  100  a  day,  is  producing  a  very  perceptible 
diminution  in  the  drain  on  the  lumber  supply,  while  the  apparent  near 
approach  of  the  steel  passenger  coach  will  soon  still  further  diminish  this 

(421) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


drain.  Notwithstanding  these  items  the  use  of  lumber  for  other  purposes 
than  ties  amounted  to  145,000,000  feet  board  measure,  or  for  all  purposes 
a  little  over  400,000,000  feet  board  measure,  during  the  year. 

The  item  of  coal  is  very  interesting.  Obviously  by  far  the  largest 
amount  of  coal  is  used  for  steam  generation,  especially  on  locomotives 
and  the  floating  equipment.  Some  also  is  used  for  stationary  boilers, 
some  for  warming  stations,  blacksmith  use,  heating  furnaces,  etc.  The 
total  amount  consumed  was  approximately  42,000  tons  per  day,  or 
a  little  over  12,500,000  tons  per  year.  If  we  assume  that  the  average 
car  load  is  50  tons,  it  follows  that  it  requires  840  cars  per  day  or  252,000 
cars  per  vear  to  hold  the  coal  required  by  this  system  alone,  and  if  30 
cars  make  a  train  load,  28  trains  per  day  or  8,400  trains  per  year  would 
be  required. 

The  item  of  iron  and  steel  is  still  more  interesting.  Rails,  track 
fastenings  and  appliances  required  187,000  tons,  structural  steel  20,000 
tons,  locomotives  35,000  tons,  shop  use  for  repairs,  etc.,  about  20,000 
tons,  car  wheels  86,000  tons,  miscellaneous  castings  nearly  20,000  tons, 
and  steel  freight  cars  727,000  or  a  total  of  1,095,000  tons  used  up  by  one 
railroad  system  in  a  year.  But  still  further,  to  make  this  iron  and  steel 
requires  not  less  than  2,200,000  tons  of  iron  ore,  and  in  addition  limestone, 
fire  clay,  and  other  refractory  materials,  as  well  as  sand,  brick,  stone, 
etc.,  or  what  may  be  called  quarry  products,  in  amount  not  less  than 
1 ,000,000  tons.  To  this  must  be  added  the  coal  necessary  to  reduce  the 
iron  ore,  and  convert  the  raw  product  into  steel  and  into  the  shapes 
required  for  use.  Safe  figuring  for  this  would  be  approximately  if  tons 
of  coal  per  ton  of  steel  or  a  total  of  3,850,000  tons.  If  this  be  added  to 
the  amount  used  for  other  purposes  as  stated  above,  it  results  that  a 
total  coal  consumption  of  16,450,000  tons,  or  nearly  55,000  tons  per  day 
arc  necessary  to  supply  the  needs  of  one  railroad  system  for  a  year. 

It  would  be  easy  to  expand  these  figures  and  cover  cement,  copper, 
tin,  lead,  zinc,  and  antimony,  all  of  which  either  alone  or  in  the  form  of 
alloys  are  used  in  quantities.  Also  tin  and  terne  plate,  galvanized 
sheets,  paints,  oils,  etc.,  might  be  covered.  But  perhaps  enough  figures 
have  been  given. 

As  to  possible  economies  in  the  future  use  of  these  materials,  not  very 
much  thai  is  positive  can  be  said.  It  is  beyond  question  that  many  of 
them  an-  used  with  extreme  wastefulness.  The  diminishing  use  of  lumber 
in  car  construction  has  been  referred  to.  It  seems  probable  that  a 
successful  Steel  cross  tie  may  be  developed  in  the  near  future  which  will 
still  further  diminish  the  drain  on  the  forests.  Some  recent  experiments 
on  locomotives  in  service  indicate  that  10%  and  possibly  more  of  the 
cod  nr.v.  burned  may  be  saved  by  proper  effort  on  the  part  of  the  engine- 
man,   and    by   careful   and   judicious   firing.     The   use  of  special  steels, 

(4- 


Statement  by  Dr  Charles  B.  Dudley 


giving  the  same  strength  with  less  weight,  seems  to  offer  some  prospect 
of  saving  in  the  iron-ore  supply.  But  all  of  these  possibilities  require 
experiment  and  in  some  cases  long-continued  experiment  for  their  demon- 
stration. There  is  unquestionably  reasonable  ground  for  the  expectation 
that  intelligent  experiment  will  lead  to  enormous  saving  in  the  use  of 
many  of  the  Nation's  natural  resources,  and  our  firm  belief  is  that  no 
money  appropriated  by  Congress,  and  no  money  expended  by  corpora- 
tions, is  more  wisely  spent  than  that  which  is  devoted  to  investigation 
and  experiment. 

Such  studies  on  combustion,  on  briquetting,  on  gas  producers,  etc.,  as 
are  now  being  conducted  by  the  Technologic  Branch  of  the  United 
States  Geological  Survey,  and  such  experiments  on  combustion  and  the 
economical  use  of  fuel  as  are  now  being  carried  on  by  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  Company  in  its  locomotive  testing  plant  at  Altoona,  cannot 
but  be  important  factors  in  the  conservation  of  our  natural  resources. 


INTERESTS  OF  THE  MANUFACTURER 
James  W.  Van  Cleave 

PRESIDENT   NATIONAL   ASSOCIATION   OF   MANUFACTURERS 

When  Nature  handed  over  to  the  American  people  the  territory  on 
which  they  were  to  build  their  country,  she  wrote  on  the  title  deed  the 
"most  favored  nation"  clause;  and  she  wrote  it  in  letters  which  the 
whole  world  could  see. 

Early  in  the  Civil  War,  in  an  editorial  on  the  financial  expenditures  of 
the  United  States,  the  London  Times  burst  out  into  this  admiring 
exclamation : 

What  strength,  what  resources,  what  vitality,  what  energy  there  must  be  in  a  nation 
that  is  able  to  ruin  itself  on  a  scale  so  transcendent  and  magnificent! 

This  has  been  our  disposition,  in  all  our  moods  and  conditions,  in  peace 
as  well  as  in  war. 

And  now  we  are  warned  that,  at  the  present  rate  of  consumption,  our 
timber  supply  will  be  exhausted  in  twenty  years,  our  natural  gas  in 
forty  years,  our  petroleum  in  fifty  years,  our  hard  coal  in  seventy-five 
years,  our  iron  ore  in  a  hundred  years,  our  copper  in  a  hundred  and 
twenty-five  years,  and  our  soft  coal  in  a  hundred  and  fifty  years.  We 
are  here  today  to  start  a  movement  to  stop  this  waste  in  the  Nation's 
sources  of  wealth. 

The  manufacturer  can  see  some  special  reasons  for  intelligent  pre- 
caution which  may  not  be  quite  so  palpable  to  men  in  other  callings. 

(423) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


Everv  hour  of  the  day  and  night  horsepower  representing  many 
millions  of  units  is  thrown  away  at  the  cataract  at  Niagara. 

Down  the  Potomac,  the  Hudson,  the  Ohio,  the  Mississippi  and  the 
country's  other  great  rivers  water  flows  idly  into  the  sea  which,  if 
intelligently  utilized,  would  give  profitable  employment  to  millions  of 

workmen. 

Vs  much  food  is  wasted  in  the  United  States  as  would  feed  all  the 
people  of  the  United  Kingdom,"  said  George  Augustus  Sala,  the  well 
known  British  journalist,  who  knew  America  and  Americans  well. 

By  devices  in  use  on  the  locomotives  in  Germany,  France,  and  Belgium, 
I  am  told,  one  ton  of  coal  is  made  to  do  as  much  work  as  three  tons  do 
on  our  locomotives. 

When  American  engineers  and  inventors  are  asked  to  get  up  con- 
trivances which  will  allow  us  to  save  some  of  our  energy  and  raw  mate- 
rials, their  answer  often  is  "We  don't  have  to  save  anything.  Coal  and 
timber  are  cheap.  So  long  as  we  make  dollars  we  won't  stoop  to  pick 
up  dimes." 

This  theory  assumes  that  if  our  iron  ore,  coal,  and  copper  should  ever 
be  exhausted  we  can  plant  them,  and  they  will  grow  up  as  profusely  as 
cabbages.  It  is  because  this  happy-go-lucky  assumption  has  broken 
down  that  we  are  called  here  today. 

As  the  first  and  most  obvious  necessity  which  presents  itself  to  manu- 
facturers we  must,  as  far  as  practicable,  use  our  raw  materials  ourselves, 
instead  of  sending  them  to  Europe  to  fashion  them  into  fabrics  for  us, 
and  then  buying  them  back  at  high  prices.  A  ton  of  iron  ore  is  multiplied 
in  value  a  thousand  times  by  being  made  into  needles  or  watch  springs. 
must  work  it  up  into  needles  and  watch  springs  at  home.  Our 
Southern  friends,  profiting  by  the  splendid  results  obtained  through  the 
use  of  water  power  on  Chattahoochee  and  Savannah  rivers  in  Georgia, 
might  well  harness  the  natural  water  power  of  the  South  and  manufac- 
ture every  bale  of  cotton  into  various  forms  from  the  highest  to  the  low- 
est grades  and  have  the  mills  right  at  the  edge  of  the  cotton  fields. 

The  Chinese  Minister  is  quoted  as  saying  that  if  the  people  of  China 
should  add  one  inch  to  their  cotton  garments  all  the  cotton  of  America 
could  not  supply  the  increased  demand. 

Your  attention  has  been  called  repeatedly  to  the  reckless  destruction 
of  land-;  this  is  startlingly  true  of  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  Georgia, 
Alabama,  Mississippi,  Kentucky,  and  Tennessee.  Suppose  some  organ- 
ized effort  was  made  to  reclaim  these  lands,  and  the  cotton  crop  of  the 
South  was  25,000,000  bales  instead  of  12,500,000;  by  this  means  we 
might  increase  the  number  of  factories,  give  more  employment  at 
better  wages  to  a  larger  number  of  our  workers,  and  equip  ourselves 
to  meet  more  effectively  the  competition  in  the  world's  markets  which  is 

C424) 


Statement  by  President  Van  Cleave 


becoming  sharper  and  sharper  every  year.  At  the  same  time  we  should 
develop  the  special  tastes  and  capabilities  of  all  our  People,  make  better 
sons  and  daughters,  better  parents,  better  neighbors,  and  better  citizens 
of  all  of  them,  and  give  all  of  them  a  broader  outlook  on  life. 

Our  large  and  rapidly  increasing  demand  for  shoes,  woolen  fabrics  of 
all  kinds,  and  many  other  articles  of  manufacture  might  utilize  water 
power,  if  our  waterways  were  made  the  subject  of  national  concern. 

Possibly  invention  and  discovery  may  some  day  give  us  suitable 
substitutes  for  the  coal,  iron,  and  other  resources  which  are  being  drawn 
upon  in  vast  quantites  now.  But  we  must  leave  them  as  long  as  we  can. 
We  must  do  this  in  our  own  interest  and  in  that  of  posterity.  The 
well  known  Western  politician  who  once  asked  contemptuously,  "What 
has  posterity  ever  done  for  us?"  put  the  policy  of  reckless  selfishness 
into  striking  phrase. 

This  is  not  the  spirit  which  builds  nations.  Emphatically  it  is  not  the 
spirit  which  has  spread  homes,  and  workshops  and  civilization  throughout 
the  West,  and  which  has  made  the  United  States  the  greatest,  the  most 
prosperous,  and  the  most  progressive  country  on  the  globe.  Rather  is  it 
the  "After-us-the-Deluge"  spirit  of  the  French  decadents  of  a  century 
and  a  half  ago,  and  who  went  down  in  the  deluge  which  their  vices  and 
follies  precipitated.  And  I  am  glad  to  see  that  a  widely  different  spirit 
brings  all  of  us  here  today. 

The  thoughtful  father  wants  to  leave  his  children  more  than  his  own 
father  gave  him.  This  must  be  the  rule  of  conduct  toward  the  millions 
of  our  countrymen  who  will  follow  us.     This  rule  compels  us  to — 

(i)  Fashion  our  raw  materials  into  fabrics  in  our  own  workshops,  and 
thus  lengthen  out  their  existence. 

(2)  Put  into  use  many  of  the  industrial  economies  which  necessity 
forces  Europe  and  Asia  to  practice. 

(3)  Offer  premiums  to  our  own  inventors  to  devise  new  economies  and 
short  cuts. 

(4)  Place  a  manual  training  department  in  all  our  public  schools,  and 
equip  the  hand  and  the  eye  of  every  child  in  the  use  of  mechanical  tools. 
An  illustration:  In  my  home  city,  St.  Louis,  we  are  very  proud  of  our 
public  schools  and  spent  $3,500,000  last  year  in  maintaining  them. 
There  were  20,000  boys  enrolled  at  the  beginning  of  the  present  school 
year  in  September  last.  Our  records  of  previous  years  show  that  less 
than  800  of  these  boys  enter  our  high  schools  per  annum,  less  than  200 
entered  the  schools  of  technology  and  college,  thus  proving  that  we 
allowed  more  than  18,000  of  these  boys  to  get  out  of  school  through 
necessity  or  the  ignorance  of  their  parents.  We  have  turned  these  boys 
out  into  the  world  without  any  training  of  hand  and  eye,  through  which 
they  might  cope  with  the  world. 


(425) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


Make  each  unit  of  our  materials  do  more  work  and  better  work 

than  it  does  now. 

(6)  Ostracise  a  spendthrift  in  natural  resources  as  we  now  ostracise 

a  drunkard  or  a  debauchee. 

The  workshops  of  the  country  will  have  a  particularly  powerful  incen- 
tive to  promote  reforms  which  this  gathering  aims  to  set  on  foot. 

I  think  I  am  safe  in  promising  the  earnest  cooperation  of  the  National 
Association  of  Manufacturers  in  carrying  out  the  good  work  which  the 
author  of  this  meeting  has  in  mind. 

Our  Association,  probably  more  than  any  other  body  of  men  in  this 
country,  should  have  this  great  movement  at  heart.  It  is  the  manu- 
facturer who  consumes  in  great  part  the  raw  material,  the  ores,  the 
timber,  and  the  fuel  which  we  now  feel  should  be  conserved,  and  it  seems 
to  be  fitting  that  the  manufacturers  should  be  among  the  first  to  see  that 
waste  is  not  permitted.  The  National  Association  of  Manufacturers  as 
an  organization  will  take  up  this  important  subject  at  its  convention 
next  week  and  practical  plans  will  be  formulated  to  further  the  aims 
and  purposes  of  this  present  Conference. 

At  this  hour  we  are  standing  on  the  dividing  line  between  a  great  past 
and  a  broader  and  grander  future.  As  representative  of  85,000,000 
People  we  are  called  upon  to  consider  the  needs  and  to  assist  in  shaping 
the  destinies  of  the  350,000,000  who  will  be  here  200  years  hence. 

Let  us  make  this  year  a  great  landmark  in  the  country's  progress.  Let 
us  take  steps  to  hand  over  to  the  generations  which  come  after  us  more 
and  better  things  than  the  preceding  generations  passed  on  to  us. 

Let  us  today  start  a  movement  at  this  center  of  the  Nation's  power, 
which,  in  its  field,  will  make  1908  stand  out  on  the  calendar  of 
American  history  as  conspicuously  and  as  beneficently  for  the  thousands 
of  millions  who  will  appear  in  the  coming  centuries  as  1776  stands  out 
for  every  person  who  is  here  at  this  hour. 


CONSERVATION  OF  SOILS 
Charles  Richard  Van  HisE 

PRESIDENT   NATIONAL   ASSOCIATION   OF   STATE    UNIVERSITIES 

In  his  very  impressive  paper  on  "The  Natural  Wealth  of  the  Land  and 
its  Conservation,"  Mr  1 1  ill  lms  given  a  comprehensive  picture  of  the  impor- 
tance of  our  soil  resources,  and  a  severe  arraignment  of  our  want  of 
foresight  and  reckless  extravagance  which  unless  checked  in  the  near 
future  threatens  to  impoverish  our  Nation  in  its  most  fundamental  asset. 

(426) 


Statement  by  President  Van  Hise 


There  can  be  no  question  about  the  correctness  of  Mr  Hill's  position  as 
to  the  profound  importance  of  the  conservation  of  the  soil.  Food  and 
clothing,  products  of  the  soil,  we  must  have.  All  of  our  other  wants 
are  subordinate  to  these. 

Mr  Hill  says :  ' '  Our  agricultural  lands  have  been  abused  in  two  principal 
ways:  first,  by  single  cropping,  and  second,  by  neglecting  fertilization." 
In  reference  to  these  abuses,  he  says:  "The  two  remedies  are  as  well 
ascertained  as  is  the  evil.  Rotation  of  crops  and  the  use  of  fertilizers 
act  as  tonics  upon  the  soil.  We  might  expand  our  resources  and  add 
billions  of  dollars  to  our  national  wealth  by  conserving  soil  resources, 
instead  of  exhausting  them,  as  we  have  the  forests  and  the  contents  of 
the  mines." 

Mr  Hill  fails  to  mention  one  of  the  great  causes  for  the  depletion  of  the 
soil,  that  of  soil  wastage  through  erosion;  but  this  aspect  of  the  subject 
is  handled  by  Professor  Chamberlin  in  another  paper,  submitted  to  the 
Conference,  therefore  I  shall  not  discuss  the  dumping  of  the  soil  into  the 
sea  by  the  rivers  in  incredible  quantities  through  cultivation  without 
reference  to  the  conditions  necessary  to  prevent  erosion.  McGee  and 
others  have  painted  woful  pictures  of  the  frightful  loss  of  soil  by  erosion, 
which  has  wasted  away  the  upper  part  of  the  soil  over  a  large  part  of 
many  States  and  which  has  even  converted  extensive  areas  into  bad-lands. 

Neither  shall  I  more  than  mention  the  question  of  rotation  of  crops. 
One  of  the  chief  purposes  of  rotation  is  obvious:  A  crop  of  one  kind 
draws  heavily  upon  certain  elements  of  the  soil;  another  does  not  demand 
so  much  of  this  element.  Therefore  it  is  plain  that  by  rotation  of  crops 
the  elements  of  fertility  may  be  drawn  upon  more  slowly  and  propor- 
tionally, and  thus  through  proper  procedure,  enable  the  farmer  to  retain 
in  the  soil  an  adequate  supply  of  each  of  the  important  elements. 

The  subject  to  which  I  wish  to  ask  your  attention  for  a  few  minutes 
is  that  of  fertilizers.  Mr.  Hill  says :  " Use  fertilizers  as  tonics  to  the  soil." 
This  naturally  raises  the  question  as  to  our  resources  in  these  materials. 
The  three  plant  foods  which  are  most  likely  to  be  present  in  insufficient 
quantity  in  the  soil,  and  which  are  most  expensive  to  supply,  are  nitrogen, 
potassium,  and  phosphorus. 

Fortunately,  in  the  atmosphere  is  an  inexhaustible  quantity  of  nitro- 
gen. The  problem  is  to  get  this  free  nitrogen  into  a  form  in  which  it  can 
be  used  by  plants.  Until  comparatively  recently,  this  was  regarded  as 
almost  hopeless;  but  the  discoveries  of  recent  years  show  that  there  are 
two  ways  in  which  the  nitrogen  of  the  air  may  be  fixed.  The  leguminous 
plants,  by  the  aid  of  bacteria,  combine  nitrogen  in  large  quantities  with 
other  elements,  and  add  it  to  the  soil  in  a  form  that  may  be  used  by  non- 
leguminous  plants.  By  electrical  methods,  also,  nitrogen  may  be  di- 
rectly combined  with  other  elements.     Thus  so  far  as  this  element  is 

(427) 
56254—09 30 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

concerned  the  problem  is  solved.  By  applying  the  knowledge  which 
science  has  furnished  us,  the  soil  need  never  lack  the  nitrogenous  element 
of  plant  food. 

In  the  original  igneous  rocks,  the  average  percentage  of  potassium  is 
about  two  and  one-half.  However,  there  are  inexhaustible  masses  of 
rock  in  which  the  percentage  is  about  three  times  this  average.  There- 
fore the  total  amount  of  this  element  is  practically  unlimited. 

Bv  nature's  processes,  potassium  has  been  extensively  abstracted 
from  the  original  rocks,  and  has  been  concentrated  so  that  in  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  continents  there  are  large  quantities  of  this  element 
in  a  readily  soluble  form  in  which  it  is  available  for  fertilizing  the 
soils  deficient  in  it.  Even  if  in  the  future  these  segregated  and  soluble 
deposit-  of  potassium  are  exhausted,  we  may  still  use  the  original 
rocks,  which  are  more  than  ordinarily  rich  in  this  element,  as  a 
source  from  which  more  concentrated  material  may  be  manufactured, 
or  the  very  finely  pulverized  rocks  may  be  used  directly  as  a  fertilizer. 

The  only  remaining  element  about  which  we  need  concern  ourselves 
is  phosphorus.  This  is  the  element  which,  so  far  as  we  can  see  at  the 
present  time,  presents  a  profoundly  serious  problem  in  maintaining  the 
fertility  of  the  soil.  Clarke,"  in  his  "Data  of  Geochemistry,"  estimates 
that  the  crust  of  the  earth  contains  only  o.n  of  i%  of  phosphorus,  or 
about  0.25  of  1%  of  phosphoric  oxide.  As  we  have  just  seen  the  average 
rocks  contain  twenty  times  as  much  potassium.  Therefore,  looking 
toward  the  distant  future,  if  we  consider  ratios,  we  may  unhesita- 
tingly assert  that  the  problem  of  maintaining  the  fertility  of  the  soil 
in  phosphorus  will  be  twenty  times  as  difficult  as  for  potassium;  but 
this  ratio  by  no  means  measures  the  real  difference,  for  when  a  deposit 
contains  a  moderate  percentage  of  a  substance  it  may  be  possible  to 
utilize  it  commercially,  whereas  if  the  percentage  falls  below  this  amount, 
it  is  without  value. 

It  is  one  of  the  great  laws  of  nature  that  under  favorable  conditions  the 
forces  and  agents  of  rock-alteration  tend  to  segregate  locally  each  of  the 
elements.  To  such  processes  of  segregation  are  due  the  available  metallic 
ores,  since  t  he  average  amounts  of  the  valuable  materials  in  the  rocks  are 
far  below  1  hose  in  the  workable  ore  deposits. 

The  segregative  processes  of  nature  have  fortunately  concentrated 
phosphorus  in  various  ways,  and  these  deposits  are  the  chief  source  of 
supply  of  our  phosphates. 

The  earliest  phosphatic  fertilizer  to  be  used  was  guano,  mainly  derived 
from  tin  islands  off  the  western  coast  of  South  America.  If  the  segrega- 
tion of  phosphorus  in  guano  were  fully  described,  it  would  be  appreciated 
how  slow  and  intricate  is  the  process  of  concentration  of  a  rare  element. 


"  1  fnited  Stati    '  ><  oloj  ic  J  Survej ,  Bulletin  No.  330  (1908). 

(428) 


Statement  by  President  Van  H 


lse 


The  story  would  involve,  first,  the  solution  of  the  widely  disseminated 
phosphorus  from  the  original  rocks,  its  segregation  through  complex  pro- 
cesses in  the  small  plants  and  animals  that  become  the  food  of  fishes, 
which  in  turn  become  the  food  of  the  sea-birds.  The  dry  excrement  of 
the  sea-bird  constitutes  the  guano.  Much  of  the  guano  contains  25%  to 
40%  of  phosphoric  oxide.  Thus  nature's  processes  of  segregation  have 
multiplied  the  amount  of  phosphorus  in  the  original  rock  from  a  hundred 
to  more  than  a  hundred  and  fifty-fold. 

Garcilaso  de  la  Vega,a  in  the  sixteenth  century,  gave  "a  very  inter- 
esting account  of  the  manner  in  which  the  birds  producing  the  guano 
were  protected  by  the  laws  of  the  Incas  of  Peru,  by  which  it  was  made  a 
crime,  punishable  by  death,  to  kill  the  sea-fowl,  to  gather  their  eggs,  or 
even  to  visit  the  islands  during  the  breeding  season." 

A  recent  report  by  Robert  Coker6  to  the  government  of  Peru  on  the 
future  of  the  guano  industry  and  the  guano-producing  birds,  tells  of  "the 
robbery  of  eggs  on  a  large  scale  in  past  years,  the  destruction  of  voung 
and  old  birds,  and  the  disturbance  of  the  birds  in  their  nesting-grounds 
by  the  extraction  of  guano."     He  says  an  inevitable  result  "has  been  a 
great  diminution  in  number."     Mr  Coker's  report  pleads  for  regulations 
to  increase  the  number  of  birds  and  thus  to  perpetually  maintain  a  large 
supply  of  guano.     With  reference  to  the  most  precious  of  the  fertilizers, 
this  twentieth  century  presents  an  ignominious  and  startling  contrast 
with  an  ancient  civilization.     In  considering  the  ill-treatment  of  the 
guano-producing  birds,  it  is  difficult  for  one  to  retain  composure  and  speak 
with  moderation  of  the  odious  combination  of  human  greed  and  brutality 
exhibited  by  this  case  of  exploitation  of  a  natural  resource,  in  complete 
ignorance  and  absolute  disregard  of  its  effect  on  the  future  of  our  race. 
The  phrase  "killing  the  goose  that  laid  the  golden  egg"  was  never  more 
applicable. 

Long  before  Man  existed  on  the  earth,  the  ancient  phosphatic  segre- 
gations of  birds  and  other  animals,  formed  on  an  extensive  scale,  were 
buried  among  the  sediments  and  have  been  partially  preserved  in  the 
rocks.  These  deposits  constitute  the  chief  sources  0/  our  mineral  phos- 
phates. Until  recently  the  most  extensive  known  deposits  were  those 
of  Florida,  South  Carolina,  and  Tennessee.  In  the  year  1907,  in  these 
States  almost  exclusively,  2,265,343  tons  of  phosphate  rock  were  pro- 
duced. While  the  amount  exploited  is  now  large,  none  of  the  scientists 
who  have  examined  these  deposits  hold  out  any  hope  that  their  extent 
is  so  great  that  they  can  be  relied  upon  as  a  source  of  phosphate  ferti- 
lizer for  more  than  a  very  brief  period,  at  most  a  few  decades  or  a  few 
score  of  years. 


"Johnson's  Universal  Ency,  Vol.  4,  p.  52. 
b  Science,  July  10,  1908,  p.  60. 

(429) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


Aside  from  these  southern  phosphates,  we  gain  small  amounts  of  phos- 
phorus as  by-products  in  the  concentration  of  the  magnetite  iron  ores, 
and  from  the  slag  of  steel  manufactured  by  the  basic  and  open-hearth 
processes.  These  operations  segregate  the  small  amounts  of  phosphorus 
in  the  iron  ores,  so  as  to  give  the  by-product  a  marketable  value;  but 
from  these  sources  we  cannot  expect  more  than  an  insignificant  fraction 
of  the  phosphatic  fertilizer  required  by  the  agricultural  interests  of  the 
United  States. 

Fortunately,  recent  investigations  °  by  the  officers  of  the  United  States 
Geological  Survey  have  shown  that  in  Utah,  Wyoming,  and  Idaho,  are 
phosphatic  deposits,  regarded  by  Weeks  and  Ferrier,  the  reporting  offi- 
cers, as  more  extensive  than  have  as  yet  been  known  to  exist  in  this 
country. 

At  a  number  of  places  a  rich  phosphate  bed  five  or  six  feet  thick  has 
been  found,  and  above  this  bed  are  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  feet  con- 
taining thin  layers  of  phosphate.  While  this  western  supply  of  phos- 
phate is  doubtless  large,  the  explorations  have  been  far  too  scanty  to 
warrant  any  quantitative  statement;  and  even  under  the  most  favor- 
able hypothesis  of  continuity  throughout  the  formation  in  which  they 
exist  (and  of  this  they  are  sure  to  fall  far  short),  they  would  still  not  be 
adequate  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  Nation  through  the  centuries  to  come. 

And  yet  the  phosphate  deposits  of  Utah,  Wyoming,  and  Idaho  remain 
practically  untouched,  and  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  speaker  are  one 
of  the  most  precious  of  the  natural  resources  of  the  Nation,  having  a 
value  inestimably  greater  than  might  be  supposed  from  the  present 
marketable  value  of  phosphate  rock. 

In  Canada  there  are  areas  of  crystalline  rocks  in  which  phosphates 
have  been  locally  segregated.  Also  in  other  countries  there  are  phos- 
phatic deposits;  but  on  these  foreign  supplies  we  can  in  no  way  depend. 
The  demand  for  phosphatic  fertilizers  by  the  agricultural  interests  of 
each  country  is  sure  to  be  so  great  that  it  may  be  confidently  predicted 
that  in  the  near  future  no  nation  will  permit  the  exportation  of  phos- 
phates,  with  the  possible  exception  of  countries  like  Peru,  where  large 
quantities  are  being  produced  each  year  through  bird  life. 

With  tin  exception  of  our  deposits  of  coal  and  iron,  so  far  as  real 
value  to  the  Nation  is  concerned,  the  western  phosphate  deposits  are 
probably  tin-  most  precious  mineral  possession  of  the  Nation.  They  are 
now  rapidly  passing  into  private  hands.  It  is  my  hope  that  our  wise 
and  courageous  President  may  find  some  legal  way  to  preserve  these 

» Investigations  relating  t>>  phosphates  and  phosphorus  in  1907,  F.  B.  Weeks,  and 
\V.  !•'.  Perrier,  Bulletin  No  J15,  United  States  Geological  Survey.  Investigations 
relating  u,  phosphates  in  1907,  I'.  B.  Weeks,  Bulletin  No.  340,  United  States  Geo- 
logical  Survey. 

(430) 


Statement  by  President  Van  Hise 


deposits  to  the  Nation,  even  as  he  has  conserved  the  last  great  remnants 
of  our  forests. 

The  general  and  alarming  decrease  in  the  crop-yield  per  acre  in  the 
various  States,  so  well  described  by  Mr  Hill,  is  largely  due  to  the  deple- 
tion of  the  soil  in  phosphorus.  This  is  clearly  shown  by  the  investiga- 
tions of  the  various  agricultural  stations.  In  order  that  the  present 
relatively  small  productivity  of  the  Southern  States  may  continue  re- 
quires the  use  each  year  of  many  thousands  of  tons  of  phosphate  ferti- 
lizer. Even  the  soils  of  the  rich  Central  States,  the  garden  of  the  United 
States,  are  deficient  in  this  important  element.  The  experiments  of  the 
Ohio  station  show  that  the  use  of  phosphatic  fertilizer  largely  increases 
the  crop-yield,  and  is  a  source  of  great  profit  to  those  using  it.  Indeed, 
their  work  on  different  fertilizers  showed  that  "for  the  soils  tested  in  the 
experiments,  phosphorus  was  the  controlling  element  in  producing  an 
increase  of  the  cereal  crops."0 

Even  for  Illinois,  correctly  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  fertile  States 
in  the  Union,  an  extensive  investigation  by  the  State  experiment  station 
shows  that  "None  of  the  soils  are  very  rich  in  phosphorus,  while  many 
of  them  are  considerably  below  the  standard  fertile  soil,  and  two  or 
three  soils  of  large  area  are  markedly  deficient  in  that  element,  particu- 
larly by  the  large  areas  of  so-called  white  clay  soil."6 

These  studies  in  Ohio  and  Illinois  are  confirmed  by  quantitative  studies 
in  Wisconsin.  Whitson  finds  as  a  result  of  the  average  of  nine  typical 
tests  that  "the  surface  eight  inches  of  virgin  soil  contains  2,877  pounds 
of  phosphoric  oxide  per  acre,  while  that  of  the  cropped  fields  contains 
but  1,813  pounds,  an  average  loss  per  acre  on  these  cropped  fields  of 
1,064  pounds,  or  36%  of  its  original  content.  The  average  period  of 
cropping  for  these  fields  has  been  54.7  years."  In  other  words,  during 
the  past  half-century,  in  Wisconsin  one-third  of  the  original  phosphorus 
of  the  soil  has  been  lost  in  the  cropped  fields.  What  has  been  proved 
for  Ohio,  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  and  other  States  where  tests  have  been 
made,  is  unquestionably  true  for  the  remaining  States  in  the  country 
which  have  been  settled  for  some  time. 

In  what  condition  will  the  soil  of  the  United  States  be  as  to  phos- 
phorus content  fifty  years  hence,  if  this  process  of  depletion  be  allowed 
to  continue  unchecked? 

The  phosphorus  which  is  taken  out  of  the  soil  by  cropping  could  be 
largely  returned  to  it  if  all  the  manure  of  the  domestic  animals  were 
saved  and  utilized.  The  experiments  of  the  Ohio  station  show  that  the 
manure  from  domestic  animals  retains  more  than  three-fourths  of  the 
phosphorus  contained  in  the  food  and  bedding,  a  large  part  of  the  re- 

«Ohio  State  Agricultural  College,  Bulletins  Nos.  141,  182. 
b  Illinois  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  Bulletin  No.  68. 


(43i) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


training  one-fourth  being  built  up  in  the  systems  of  the  animals.  Thus 
if  the  excrement  from  all  domestic  animals,  both  in  town  and  country, 
were  returned  to  the  soil,  more  than  three-fourths  of  the  phosphorus 
would  go  back  to  it.  But  as  yet  our  agricultural  population  is  most 
delinquent  as  to  the  manner  in  which  they  handle  the  feces  and  urine  of 
the  domestic  animals.  The  agricultural  colleges  and  experiment  sta-_ 
tions,  through  teaching  the  students  and  through  extension,  have  a 
heavy  responsibility  in  this  matter  of  the  waste  of  the  valuable  fertili- 
zers, and  especially  the  phosphates. 

The  phosphates  which  pass  into  the  bones  of  domestic  animals,  so  far 
as  they  arc  killed  in  the  great  abbatoirs,  become  valuable  by-products, 
which  are  sold  to  the  farmer,  and  thus  are  returned  to  the  soil. 

There  remains  only  to  consider  Man  as  a  source  of  phosphates.  In  this 
country  there  has  been  as  yet  practically  no  attempt  to  return  the  human 
excrement  to  the  soil.  This  is  true  of  both  country  and  city.  In  the 
country  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  handling  the  human  excrement, 
so  as  to  use  it  as  a  fertilizer,  is  comparatively  easy,  but  the  education  of 
the  farmer  so  that  he  will  apply  the  solution  will  prove  a  difficult  task 
which  must  be  taken  up  at  many  thousands  of  centers.  At  the  present 
time,  through  our  concentrations  into  cities  and  towns  and  the  running 
of  sewage  into  the  streams,  a  large  proportion  of  the  human  excrement, 
as  well  as  that  of  animals,  all  rich  in  phosphorus,  goes  to  the  rivers  and 
thence  to  the  sea,  so  that  there  is  vast  and  unnecessary  loss  of  the  phos- 
phates. Whit  son  estimates  that  the  loss  in  the  cities  due  to  human  excreta 
alone  is  the  equivalent  of  2  or  3  pounds  of  phosphoric  oxide  per  acre  for 
tli.-  entire  cropped  region  of  the  United  States.  Supposing  this  loss  to  be  2 
pounds,  or  one  one-thousandths  of  a  ton,  this  amounts  for  the  400,000,000 
acres  to  400,000  tons  of  phosphoric  oxide,  or  equivalent  to  1,200,000  tons 
of  phosphate  rock.  The  method  of  sewage  disposal  should  be  wholly 
abandoned  and  the  phosphates  of  the  sewage  returned  to  the  soil.  The 
saved  phosphates  alone  would  more  than  justify  the  cost,  without  taking 
into  account  the  enormous  advantages  of  freeing  the  living  water  from 
pollution. 

The  wide  dispersal  of  vast  quantities  of  phosphorus,  which  it  took  the 
processes  of  nature  an  indefinite  period  to  segregate,  must  cease.  The 
loss  i  irreparable.  In  this  matter  we  may  well  turn  to  China  and  Japan 
for  guidance.  The  evidence  is  clear  that  the  people  of  these  ancient 
nit  ions,  which  have  had  a  dense  population  for  many  centuries  and 
have  preserved  tin-  fertility  01  th<ir  soils,  have  carefully  saved  and  utilized 
animal  ami  human  excrement. 

In  the  year  [906,  of  the  somewhat  more  than  two  and  a  quarter  million 
tons  of  phosphate  rock  produced  in  the  United  States,  more  than  30% 
was  exported;  ami  since  the  richer  rock  was  sent  abroad,  more  than  this 

(432) 


Statement  by  President  Van  Hise 


proportion  of  the  value  of  the  material  as  a  fertilizer  went  out  of  this 
country. 

At  the  present  time  there  is  need  for  much  more  phosphate  rock  than  we 
now  raise  to  neutralize  the  annual  loss  of  the  soil  due  to  the  waste  of  animal 
and  human  excrement.  Whitson's  investigations  show  the  loss  of  phos- 
phoric oxide  in  the  fields  tested  in  Wisconsin  to  be  annually  about  20 
pounds  per  acre.  To  be  conservative,  let  us  suppose  that  the  average 
loss  for  the  United  States  is  but  half  of  this  amount.  For  400,000,000 
acres,  less  than  the  total  of  the  cropped  land,  this  would  represent  an 
annual  loss  of  2,000,000  tons  of  phosphoric  oxide;  but  since  the  phos- 
phate mined  is  only  about  one-third  phosphoric  oxide,  to  supply  this 
amount  would  require  6,000,000  tons  of  rock. 

If  we  suppose  the  accumulated  loss  of  the  soils  of  the  United  States 
from  natural  conditions  due  to  cropping  is  one-half  that  found  by  Whitson 
in  the  fields  tested  in  Wisconsin,  the  amount  would  be  a  quarter  of  a  ton 
per  acre,  and  for  400,000,000  acres,  100,000,000  tons  of  phosphoric  oxide, 
which  is  the  equivalent  of  300,000,000  tons  of  phosphate  rock.  Thus, 
to  make  good  the  phosphorus  already  lost  to  the  soil  in  the  United  States 
by  reckless  disregard  of  the  future  would  require  the  present  output  of 
our  mines  for  more  than  a  century,  even  if  at  once  it  were  possible  to 
prevent  further  depletion  of  the  soil  and  no  more  of  our  phosphate  rock 
were  required  to  neutralize  the  current  waste. 

In  Sweden  the  government  decides  as  to  whether  it  is  wise  to  allow 
iron  ore  to  be  exported,  and  limits  the  amount  which  may  be  sent  out  of 
the  country  each  year.  If  the  statements  presented  in  this  paper  are 
true,  there  should  be  a  law  prohibiting  exportation  of  a  single  pound  of 
phosphate  rock.  With  the  teeming  millions  which  are  to  occupy  this 
country,  estimated  by  Mr  Hill  to  be  more  than  200,000,000  within  a 
half  century,  we  shall  sorely  need — indeed  we  now  sorely  need — all  of 
our  mineral  phosphates.  In  this  matter  we  should  think  not  merely  of 
the  next  fifty  years  but  of  the  future  centuries. 

The  foregoing  remarks  show  that  the  arraignment  which  Mr  Hill  makes 
as  to  the  reckless  extravagance  of  the  American  is  confirmed  in  every 
particular  when  considered  with  reference  to  that  most  precious  con- 
stituent of  the  soil — phosphorus. 

Hopkins0  well  says:  "If  he  who  makes  two  blades  of  grass  grow 
where  but  one  grew  before  is  a  public  benefactor,  then  he  who  reduces 
the  fertility  of  the  soil  so  that  but  one  ear  of  corn  grows  where  two  grew 
before  is  a  public  curse." 

That  Nation  only  can  reach  the  highest  intellectual  and  spiritual  level 
which  is  well  nourished.  Nourishment  requires  food.  Food  depends  on 
the  necessary  elements  to  feed  the  plants  in  the  soil.     Of  these  we  can 

« Illinois  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  Bulletin  No.  68. 

(433) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


see  no  future  danger  so  far  as  nitrogen,  sodium,  and  potassium  are  con- 
cerned; but  because  phosphorus  is  relatively  so  rare  an  element,  because 
it  has  been  segregated  by  the  processes  of  nature  in  so  limited  an  amount, 
and  since  it  is  so  essential  to  the  growth  of  both  plants  and  animals,  it 
is  clear  that  we  should  exercise  the  utmost  foresight  in  conserving  the 
natural  concentrations  of  phosphorus  and  retaining  that  still  in  the  soil. 
We  should  work  with  the  natural  agents  of  the  earth  rather  than 
reverse  their  work,  as  we  have  been  doing  since  American  settlement 
began.  If  the  call  of  President  Roosevelt  for  this  Conference  results  in 
the  conservation  of  the  phosphates  in  the  soil,  and  the  retention  for  our 
People  of  the  mineral  phosphates  of  the  country,  this  alone  will  have 
justified  the  call  many-fold. 


THE  TWILIGHT  ZONE 

Seth  Low 

president  of  the  national  civic  federation 

By  papers  which  have  been  read  during  the  Conference,  two  thoughts 
have  been  suggested  which  it  seems  worth  while  to  make  a  matter  of 
record  in  this  connection.  Great  emphasis  has  properly  been  laid  on 
the  necessity  of  securing  the  cooperation  of  both  the  States  and  the 
Nation  in  the  matter  of  forest  preservation  and  in  the  matter  of  reforesta- 
tion. It  is  perhaps  worth  while  to  point  out  that  it  is  hardly  lessimportant 
to  secure  the  cooperation,  so  far  as  possible,  of  the  private  owners  of 
timber  land  for  the  furtherance  of  both  of  these  ends.  Any  such  coopera- 
tion on  the  part  of  private  owners  is  not  at  all  unlikely  toinvolve,  especially 
if  any  limitation  of  the  cut  is  to  be  considered,  some  agreement  in  restraint 
of  interstate  trade;  and,  if  so,  such  an  agreement  would  be  unlawful 
under  the  terms  of  the  vSherman  Anti-Trust  Act,  as  interpreted  by  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  In  other  words,  if  the  cooperation 
of  private  owners  of  timber  land  is  desired,  some  amendment  of  the  Sher- 
man Ami  Trust  Aet  that  would  make  agreements  between  lumbermen 
lawful  may  be  absolutely  necessary. 

Mr  Bryan  in  his  interesting  paper  said  that  there  was  no  "twilight 
zone"  between  the  power  of  the  States  and  of  the  United  States.  It 
may  be  worth  while  to  point  out  that,  in  connection  with  the  regulation 
of  interstate  trade,  then-  is  precisely  such  a  "twilight  zone."  The  States 
control  tli'-  agencies  which  do  interstate  trade,  because  the  States 
ite  them;  but  tin  States  can  not  control  or  regulate  the  interstate 
commerce  which  these  agencies  do.  On  the  other  hand,  the  United 
Stat'    can  control  the  interstate  commerce  that  is  done,  but  can  not  con- 

(434) 


Statement  by  President  Seth  Low 


trol  the  agents  that  do  the  interstate  commerce.  In  other  words,  neither 
the  State  sovereignty  nor  the  National  sovereignty  covers  both  the  agents 
and  the  interstate  commerce  that  they  do.  I  submit  that  this  is,  in  effect, 
a  "twilight  zone,"  and  that  the  remedy  must  be  sought  either  by  means 
of  a  National  license  for  interstate  business,  or  by  means  of  a  National 
incorporation  of  the  companies  that  do  interstate  business;  so  that  the 
sovereignty  which  controls  interstate  business  may  have  something  to 
say  not  only  as  to  the  business  that  is  done  but  as  to  the  agents  that  do  it. 

There  are  few  subjects  more  important  than  this  demanding  considera- 
tion in  the  near  future;  and  some  solution  of  this  question  which  will 
abolish  the  existing  "twilight  zone"  may  have  a  very  vital  relation  to 
the  conservation  of  the  National  resources. 


NECESSITY  FOR  WATERWAY  IMPROVEMENT 
Charles  J.  Austin 

PRESIDENT    NATIONAL    HAY    ASSOCIATION 

When  I  received  the  invitation  from  President  Roosevelt  to  attend  this 
Conference  as  the  executive  head  of  the  National  Hay  Association,  the 
thoughts  uppermost  in  my  mind  were  the  honor  conferred  on  our  organi- 
zation, and  just  what  relationship  hay  can,  from  any  standpoint,  bear  to 
conserving  the  natural  resources  of  the  country;  and  it  was  with  more  or 
less  misgiving  that  I  accepted,  thinking  that  possibly  our  trade  would 
take  up  room  that  might  better  be  occupied  with  other  interests  of 
more  benefit  to  the  purposes  sought. 

However,  having  accepted,  I  immediately  set  about  seeing  just  what 
I  could  do  to  help,  and  at  the  same  time  bring  to  the  notice  of  this  dis- 
tinguished gathering  a  crop  annually  harvested,  and  whose  aggregate 
last  year  was  60,000,000  tons,  and  footed  up  in  value  second  to  corn  only. 

The  relationship  of  this  large  crop  to  the  waterways  is  in  my  opinion 
germane,  to  the  extent  that  during  the  months  of  navigation  a  large  part 
of  shipments  are  consigned  by  water,  and  could  be  very  largely  increased 
if  existing  waterways  were  navigable.  In  New  York  State,  as  you 
know,  provision  has  already  been  made  for  a  barge  canal,  which  when 
finished  will  render  the  commerce  of  the  United  States  untold  assistance. 

The  whole  country  is  familiar  with  transportation  conditions  during 
the  past  two  years  and  up  to  last  October,  and  I  venture  the  opinion  you 
are  all  well  acquainted  with  actual  losses,  and  many  of  them  too,  incurred 
through  lack  of  facilities  to  move  the  crops  and  other  commodities,  and 
the  hay  interests  suffered  in  common  with  everything  else. 

The  Association  which  I  represent  numbers  among  its  members  nearly 
1,000  firms,  who  as  individuals  handle  nearly  75%  of  the  crop  of  hay  for 

(435) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


export  or  home  consumption,  and  I  believe  that  this  Association  may  be 
of  practical  use  in  assisting  in  the  conservation  of  our  natural  resources  to 
the  extent  that  it  is  conversant  with  the  actual  needs  of  all  sections  of 
our  countrv,  both  sea-board  and  inland,  and  stands  ready  to  assist, 
whenever  and  wherever  it  can  when  called  upon  to  do  so.  I  as  its  execu- 
tive so  pledge  it. 

Man}-  commodities  of  a  like  bulk  need  water  transportation,  and  a 
solution  of  this  trouble  would  relieve  the  question  of  future  congestion 
and  inadequate  transportation.  I  have  read  that  it  will  take  an  enor- 
mous amount  of  money  to  put  the  railroads  in  shape  to  handle  future 
traffic,  which  in  any  event  would  not  be  lasting,  and  at  the  end  of  a  few 
years  the  same  work  and  improvements  would  have  to  be  done  over 
again.  Why  not  spend  one-half  of  this  estimated  sum  on  the  pro- 
tection of  our  forests  first  and  the  balance  upon  improved  waterways? 
Then,  and  only  then,  I  believe  we  will  have  accomplished  the  desired  result. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  water  transportation  is  cheap,  far  cheaper 
than  rail,  and  the  question  of  expense  enters  largely  into  the  conditions 
of  anv  successful  undertaking;  and  the  item  of  storage  bills  during  the 
past  two  years  has  been  a  factor  in  many  a  man's  enterprise,  as  no  doubt 
many  of  you  know,  largely  because  of  the  fact  that  the  goods  could  not 
be  moved  when  desired. 

I  have  heard  it  said  that  at  the  rate  electricity  and  gasoline  are  supplant- 
ing the  horse  you  would  not  very  long  need  hay  or  oats,  and  the  land  so 
used  could  be  planted  to  trees.  Let  me  tell  you,  Gentlemen,  that  the 
consumption  of  hay  for  1907  was  at  its  height,  and  it  is  not  diminishing. 
The  horse  and  his  uses  are  far  from  dead. 

I  find  at  the  American  Forestry  Congress,  held  in  1905,  this  Associa- 
tion was  represented  by  a  former  President,  Mr  Charles  England,  of  Balti- 
more, and  the  counsel  of  the  Association,  Mr  John  B.  Daish,  of  Washing- 
ton, and  that  in  the  report  submitted  by  them  and  transmitted  at  its 
Annual  Meeting  to  the  Association  in  1905,  through  the  Board  of  Directors, 
it  was  recommended  that  the  Association  do  all  it  could  to  further  the 
interests  resulting  from  this  Conference;  and  to  cooperate  when  asked 
by  the  proper  authorities,  which  has  been  done. 

I  venture  to  say  many  propositions  will  be  presented  to  this  Con- 
ference;  yet  in  my  humble  opinion,  in  order  to  properly  bring  the  subjects 
uppermost  in  the  minds  of  this  assemblage  before  Congress,  the  Gov- 
ernor-* of  each  State  and  Territory  should  appoint  at  once  a  commission  of 
members,  consisting  of  the  most  able  and  available  president  of  a  college, 
within  the  State  if  possible,  a  practical  business  man  familiar  with  the 

nts  of  the  agricultural  interests  and  their  requirements,  an  expert  on 

forestry,  an  experienced  traffic  man,  and  an  engineer  of  note,  with  the 

ernoi  ex  officio.     This  committee  should  ascertain  just  what  ought 

(436) 


Statement  by  President  Austin 


to  be  done  within  their  individual  State,  then  request  that  each  committee 
send  a  committee  of  two  of  its  members  to  Washington  not  later  than 
the  first  Monday  in  December,  1908,  to  meet  in  a  general  conference  with 
the  Inland  Waterways  Commission  and  agree  on  a  program  to  present 
to  Congress  which  will  conserve  the  interests  at  stake.  Following  such  a 
plan,  I  can  not  see  why  Congress  should  not  afford  the  necessary  relief, 
which  the  master  mind  of  the  Executive  of  the  United  States  was  far- 
sighted  enough  to  know  was  needed,  and  courageously  put  in  action  the 
machinery  that  resulted  in  this  Conference. 

Permit  me,  Gentlemen,  to  extend  to  this  assemblage,  and  to  the  Inland 
Waterways  Commission  particularly,  the  hearty  cooperation  of  the 
National  Hay  Association  at  any  and  all  times. 


FIRE  PREVENTION 
Powell  Evans 


This  Conference,  remarkable  in  its  scope  and  composition,  owes  its 
birth  to  the  economic  waste  in  many  directions  characterizing  the  Na- 
tional life  and  activity  of  the  People  of  the  United  States.  The  topics 
of  greatest  importance  are  those  which  concern  the  undisputed  waste 
which  has  marked  and  still  accompanies  the  use  of  our  National  natural 
resources.  Proper  consideration  of  these  questions,  however,  at  once 
leads  to  associated  subjects  which  seriously  affect  the  welfare  of  the 
country's  entire  population,  and  which  by  their  very  nature  can  only 
be  indirectly  controlled  by  the  National  Government,  but  yet  demand 
prompt  and  concerted  action  on  the  part  of  the  several  States. 

The  United  States  Inland  Waterways  Commission  and  Forest  Service 
Bureau  have  during  the  past  year  urgently  called  attention  to  the  widely 
ramifying  injury  inflicted  on  the  country  at  large  by  the  rapid  destruc- 
tion of  our  forests.  There  are  three  principal  causes  of  forest  waste,  viz : 
(1)  fire,  which  occasions  over  one-third  of  this  destruction;  (2)  the  size 
of  the  lumber  cut  (about  40,000,000,000  feet  for  1907,  or  8  to  9 
times  that  of  Europe,  per  capita) ;  and  (3)  the  unnecessarily  destructive 
methods  employed  in  cutting  our  timber. 

Fire  loss  generally  in  the  United  States  is  closely  associated  with  the 
first  two  causes  of  forest  waste  above  defined.  The  tremendous  forest 
fire  waste  is  paralleled  by  proportionate  fire  loss  in  artificial  wealth,  as 
will  be  shown  below.  Obviously  the  admittedly  unnecessary  amount 
of  all  this  fire  waste  must  arise  primarily  from  thriftless  and  indifferent 
public  opinion.  Public  opinion,  if  aroused  and  educated  on  this  sub- 
ject, would  operate  to  reduce  all  fire  waste  to  its  reasonable  proportions. 
Again,  the  undue  fire  waste  of  artificial  property  all  over  the  country  arises 

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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


to  great  extent  from  the  use  (and  the  unnecessary  use,  as  better  sub- 
stitutes can  be  employed)  of  too  much  timber  in  building  construction. 

Restriction  on  the  use  of  timber  in  city  building  would  operate  sub- 
stantially to  reduce  fire  loss,  and  at  the  same  time  materially  to  reduce 
the  demand  for  timber,  thus  requiring  a  smaller  annual  cut,  and  this 
principally  for  use  in  the  arts,  where  no  satisfactory  substitute  is  ob- 
tainable. 

Hence  any  step  leading  to  reduced  fire  waste  would  operate  both  to 
el(  vate  public  morals  on  the  subject  and  to  reduce  the  consumption  of 
timber— a  two-fold  help  toward  forest  conservation. 

I  will  now  outline  the  size,  nature  and  the  initial  remedies  for  the 
artificial  fire  waste  of  the  country. 

The  danger  of  fire,  in  destroying  property,  in  the  interruption  of  busi- 
ness, and  in  creating  a  permanent  charge  on  income,  is  a  menace  to  our 
entire  business  world;  while  at  the  same  time  it  presents  an  ever-present 
risk  to  life  in  the  house,  the  shop,  the  factory,  and  in  all  places  of  assem- 
blage, all  of  which  touches  every  citizen  of  the  country  closely  all  the 
time  and  everywhere. 

Fire  prevention  is  the  general  term  applied  to  the  science  of  so  con- 
structing, protecting  and  occupying  buildings  as  to  minimize  the  danger 
of  fire;  and  must  not  be  confused  with  the  narrower  definition  of  "fire 
protection"  applied  to  the  mechanical  aids  employed  to  discover,  resist 
and  fight  fire. 

The  annual  fire  loss  of  the  United  States,  on  a  ten-year  average,  for 
the  years  up  to  the  end  of  1902  (prior  to  the  great  Baltimore  and  San 
Francisco  fires)  was  $146,552,365;  and  up  to  1908  was  $198,181,188. 

The  tremendous  size  of  this  waste  may  better  be  realized  when  measured 
with  familiar  items  in  our  national  expenditure. 

The  annual  ten-year  average  fire  loss  up  to  the  end  of  1906  compares 
as  follows  with  the  like  averages  of  the  items  given  below: 

36%   United  States  Government  total  receipts $554,390,238 

37  %   Net  earnings  railways  in  United  States 542,  274,  762 

37','    United  Slates  Government  total  ordinary  expenditures 532,018,  116 

76'/,    Interest  paid  by  railways  in  United  States 261,044,  569 

78%    United  States  internal  revenue  receipts 253,400,  164 

-■/''    United  States  customs 252,359,639 

122  %    Dividends  paid  by  railways  in  United  States 162,  124,  558 

141  '',    I'nited  States  pensions 140,  861,  166 

152  %    United  States  postoffice  receipts 130,  201,  926 

156%   Commercial  failures  in  United  States  (liabilities) 126,  646,  386 

1570'    United  States  War  Department  cost 126,465,728 

-    Fire  Insuranci    lo      payments 120,352,198 

180'*  I'nited    States  gold    production) 

United  States  silver  production!  (coinm8value>"  109,805,439 

242  %    United  States  .\'avy  cost: 81,  871,  647 

648;?    Interest  on  United  States  national  debt 30,568,000 

(438) 


Statement  by  Powell  Evans 


The  total  1907  fire  loss  was  $215,671,250. 

In  January,  1908,  by  far  the  worst  record  ever  known  was  made  in  the 
fire  loss  sustained  in  the  United  States  and  Canada,  aggregating  $29,582,- 
600,  approximately  $5,500,000  more  than  for  January,  1907,  and  $i2!ooo,'- 
000  more  than  for  January,  1906  (including  460  odd  fires  exceeding 
$10,000  loss  in  each  instance). 

In  April,  1908,  the  United  States  and  Canadian  fire  loss  was  $26,669,000, 
approximately  exceeding  the  same  month  of  1907  by  $5,000,000  (includ- 
ing 376  fires  reaching  or  exceeding  $10,000  loss  each). 

The  United  States  and  Canadian  fire  loss  for  the  first  four  months  of 
1908  was  $91,464,600,  or  at  the  annual  rate  of  $275,000,000  for  both 
countries  (the  share  of  the  United  States  being  higher  than  for  any  like 
average  previous  period). 

All  these  figures  conclusively  prove  the  constant  increase  in  fire  waste, 
but  do  not  represent  all  the  cost  imposed  upon  the  country  from  this 
cause.  The  cost  of  insurance  is  the  measure  of  this  amount,  and  even 
this  does  not  represent  the  full  cost  to  the  Nation,  as  the  expense  of 
municipal  fire  protection  and  departments  must  also  be  included  in  esti- 
mating the  total  burden. 

About  630  stock  and  mutual  fire  insurance  companies  during  1907 
wrote  approximately  $30,000,000,000  of  risks  for  which  they  received 
$301,038,893  cash  premiums. 

Not  all  the  property  burned  in  1907  was  insured.  Nevertheless  the 
cash  premiums  received  by  these  fire  insurance  companies  during  this 
year  show  an  actual  average  cost  to  the  People  of  the  United  States  of 
$1.40  for  every  dollar  of  fire  loss. 

It  is  stated  by  fire  insurance  authorities  that  an  average  of  60  cents 
out  of  every  dollar  of  premium  received  is  used  to  pay  insured  fire  loss. 
With  these  figures  as  a  basis  it  will  be  possible,  by  reducing  fire  waste, 
for  the  public  to  save  on  an  average  at  once  all  uninsured  value  now 
burned,  and  in  time  1  %  of  all  insured  values  now  burned. 


HOW    CONSERVATION    OF    MINERAL    RESOURCES    CAN    BE 

ACCOMPLISHED 

J.  A.  Holmes 

CHIEF  TECHNOLOGIC  BRANCH  UNITED  STATES  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 

The  Governor  of  Indiana  has  raised  an  eminently  pertinent  question, 
namely,  How  can  the  conservation  of  resources  be  brought  about? 

For  the  conservation  of  forests  the  way  seems  comparatively  clear. 
The  great  problem  is  to  arouse  the  American  People  to  action.     The 

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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


Federal  Forest  Service  has  already  begun  a  splendid  work  in  the  care 
and  extension  of  the  national  forests,  and  in  general  educational  work 
throughout  the  country.  Several  States  have  organized  forest  com- 
missions for  the  purchase  and  reforesting  of  lands  not  suited  for  ordi- 
narv  agricultural  purposes;  and  this  is  a  great  work  which  every  State 
can  do.  Each  State  can  by  tax  adjustment  and  in  other  ways  make  it 
to  the  interest  of  its  citizens  to  preserve  and  extend  forest  on  their  private 

land 

The  conservation  of  our  soils  can  also  be  easily  brought  about  by 
proper  croppage,  culture,  terracing,  draining,  and  so  forth — reforms 
already  begun,  but  with  an  enormous  amount  of  educational  work  yet 
to  be  done  in  their  behalf  by  the  Federal,  State  and  private  agencies,  in 
carrving  this  movement  forward  to  conditions  which  should  exist. 

Conservation  of  our  water  resources,  though  somewhat  complicated 
bv  legislative  difficulties,  is  bound  to  go  forward  with  the  conservation 
of  soils  and  forest  along  certain  well-defined  lines,  if  the  people  of  this 
country  will  act  advisedly. 

In  each  of  these  cases  the  comforting  feature  is,  that  while  by  destruc- 
tive interests  and  habits  we  have  gone  a  long  way  in  the  waste  of  these 
resources,  there  is  a  re-creation  possible;  and  by  serious,  long-continued, 
widespread,  cooperative  effort,  we  may  not  only  maintain,  but  we  may 
steadily  improve  the  existing  conditions.  By  extending  our  forests, 
building  storage  reservoirs,  and  the  judicious  care  of  our  soils  we  may 
have  timber,  and  water,  and  abundant  recurring  crops  for  the  hundreds 
of  millions  of  American  Citizens  who  will  people  this  country  through 
the  future  centuries. 

But  by  far  the  most  serious  problem  before  the  Nation  in  this  conser- 
vation movement  is  the  approaching  exhaustion  of  its  mineral  resources — 
resources  of  which  there  are  no  recurring  supplies,  no  re-creation  with  the 
seasons — and  the  exhaustion  of  which  when  once  accomplished  is  a  per- 
manent exhaustion.  There  is  no  interest  accruing;  and  we  are  rapidly 
and  continuously  depleting  our  principal. 

The  opening  address  by  the  President,  the  papers  by  Mr  Carnegie 
and  Professor  White,  and  the  discussions  of  different  phases  of  this  sub- 
ject by  Mr  Mitchell,  Mr  Hammond,  President  Van  Hise,  Governor  John- 
and  others,  have  set  forth  with  admirable  and  convincing  clearness 
facts  concerning  our  mineral  resources  which  demand  attention,  and 
which  can  no!  fail  to  impress  everyone  as  to  the  need  of  conserving  these 
I'm  the  question  which  naturally  arises  is  this  question 
raised  by  the  Governor  of  Indiana:  How  can  this  be  done?  Can  we  so 
•  ad  the  life  of  our  supplies  of  mineral  materials  as  to  meet  the  real 
Deeds  of  the  present  century,  and  at  the  same  time  save  something  for 
the  ii"  l<    -  i'  al  needs  of  the  generations  of  American  citizens  which  are 

(440) 


Statement  by  J.  A.  Holmes 


to  come  after  us?  Can  this  be  done  without  curtailing  the  needs  of  the 
present  generation,  and  without  too  seriously  interfering  with  the  rights 
and  opportunities  of  the  present  holders  of  these  properties? 

SOME  THINGS  WE   CAN    NOT   DO 

Assuming  that  the  above  questions  can  and  must  be  answered  in 
the  affirmative,  let  us  first  endeavour  to  clear  the  situation  by  getting 
rid  of  certain  prominent  negative  propositions: 

(i)  We  can  not  deny  the  power  nor  the  right  of  the  present  generation 
to  use  efficiently  so  much  of  these  resources  as  it  actually  needs. 

(2)  We  can  not  curtail  present  needs;  and  these  needs  will  increase  as 
there  is  increase  in  the  Nation's  population,  and  in  the  extent  and  diver- 
sity of  its  industries. 

(3)  We  can  not  expect  the  men  of  this  generation  to  mine,  extract,  or 
use  these  resources  in  such  manner  as  to  entail  continuous  financial  loss 
to  themselves,  in  order  that  something  be  left  for  the  future.  Unless 
there  are  profits  associated  with  mineral  industry  there  will  be  no  min- 
eral industry. 

First  of  all  we  must  have — 

A    RATIONAL    BASIS   FOR    CONSERVATION 

One  of  the  essential  steps  in  this  movement  is  to  secure  the  adoption 
of  the  fundamental  principles  which  give  conservation  as  applied  to 
mineral  resources  this  rational  basis.  Some  of  the  more  important  of 
these  principles,  which  should  be  considered  in  connection  with  the  pre- 
ceding propositions,  are  as  follows : 

(1)  These  resources,  which  have  required  countless  ages  for  their 
accumulation,  which  when  once  exhausted  are  not  reproduced,  and  for 
which  there  are  no  known  substitutes,  must  serve  as  a  basis  of  the  future 
no  less  than  the  present  welfare  of  the  Nation.  No  human  agencies,  no 
present  owners  of  these  resources,  have  contributed  toward  their  accumu- 
lation, or  to  their  intrinsic  values.  In  the  highest  sense  therefore  they 
should  be  regarded  as  property  held  in  trust  for  the  use  of  the  race  rather 
than  for  a  single  generation,  and  property  for  the  use  of  the  Nation 
rather  than  for  the  benefit  of  the  few  individuals  who  may  hold  them 
by  the  right  of  discovery  or  purchase. 

(2)  Measured  in  terms  of  the  needs  of  a  great  and  rapidly  growing 
Nation,  the  mineral  resources  of  this  country  are  limited  in  quantity. 

(3)  Measured  in  terms  of  the  life  of  the  Nation,  at  the  present  increasing 
rate  of  consumption  and  waste,  we  will  while  the  Nation  is  yet  in  its  infancy 
exhaust  permanently  resources  intended  as  the  essential  basis  of  the 
welfare  of  all  its  succeeding  generations.     To  shirk  this  responsibility 

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Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


with  the  claim  that  these  succeeding  generations  will  discover  other 
now  unknown  resources  for  their  use  is  even  more  illogical  and  unwar- 
ranted. 

(4)  The  right  of  the  present  generation  to  use  efficiently  of  these 
resources  what  it  actually  needs,  carries  with  it  a  sacred  obligation  not 
to  waste  this  precious  heritage. 

(5)  The  right  to  profit  in  the  mining  and  subsequent  use  of  our  mineral 
resources  does  not  carry  with  it  the  right  to  destroy  the  birthright  of 
generations  vet  unborn  in  order  that  we  of  today  may  obtain  more 
easily  and  more  cheaply  the  products  we  need  for  present  use. 

(6)  It  is  therefore  reasonable  to  expect  that  the  users  of  mineral 
products  will  pav  for  them  such  higher  prices  as  will  make  profitable 
their  mining  and  preparation  without  serious  waste. 

(7)  It  is  also  reasonable  to  expect  that  the  resulting  increase  in  the 
first  cost  of  the  crude  material  will  ensure  their  more  efficient  use,  and 
that  this  in  turn  will  both  help  to  keep  down  the  ultimate  cost  of  finished 
products  and  to  conserve  the  resources. 

(8)  The  very  abundance  and  cheapness  of  our  resources  have  de- 
veloped an  American  habit  of  waste  which  is  the  greatest  menace  to 
our  future  welfare.  This  waste,  of  the  past  and  present,  entails  on  us 
a  still  greater  obligation  to  strive  for  the  highest  possible  efficiency  in 
the  future  mining  and  use  of  these  resources. 

(9)  So  long  as  men  are  human,  self-interest  will  naturally  dominate 
the  policy  and  action  of  individuals  and  corporations;  and  these  policies 
and  actions  relating  primarily  to  the  question  of  temporary  gain  are  not 
always  in  accord  with  the  best  interests  of  the  Nation.  To  the  Nation 
alone  can  be  entrusted  the  guardianship  of  its  own  future.  This  con- 
servation of  resources  is  therefore  a  great  national  problem  and  a  great 
national  duty. 

HOW   CONSERVATION    CAN    BE    ACCOMPLISHED 

(1)  Through  investigation — We  must  find  out  the  important  facts  in 
each  case;  the  nature  and  extent  of  each  of  the  country's  important 
the  rate  at  which  each  resource  is  being  utilized;  the  purposes 
for  which  each  is  being  used;  the  purpose  for  which  each  is  best  adapted. 
We  must  determine  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  waste  in  the  mining, 
extraction  and  use  of  each  mineral  product;  how  this  waste  can  be  pre- 
vent! d;  how  each  product  can  be  used  with  increasing  efficiency,  so 
that  on  tin-  morrow  one  pound  may  do  the  work  which  today  or  yester- 
day required  the  use  of  two  pounds  or  more.  We  must  find  out  to  what 
nt  it  may  be  possible  to  discover  and  develop  substitutes  which  may 
in  part  or  entirely  take  the  place  of,  and  thus  lessen  the  need  for,  other 
products  of  importance  of  which   the  supply  is  limited;  and  we  must 

(44-0 


Statement  by  J.  A.  Holmes 


discover  methods  for  utilizing  properly  by-products  or  other  materials 
for  which  under  existing  conditions  there  is  no  commercial  demand  and 
which  are  therefore  permanently  wasted  as  having  no  value. 

During  the  past  year,  for  example,  it  is  estimated  that  more  than 
300,000,000  tons  of  coal  were  permanently  lost  in  mining  480,000,000 
tons,  for  the  reason  that  being  of  low  grade,  or  high  in  sulphur,  or  being 
needed  to  support  the  roof  it  could  not  be  mined  with  safety  or  profit 
under  practices  now  in  vogue. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  the  Federal  Government,  in  its  fuel  investigations 
now  under  way,  to  indicate  how  this  enormous  waste  can  be  avoided 
with  profit  to  the  operators  and  with  enormous  saving  to  the  Nation. 
And  all  such  investigations,  whether  by  the  Federal  or  State  authorities, 
should  be  extended  until  every  phase  of  these  important  problems  has 
been  investigated  and  the  facts  laid  before  the  public. 

The  investigations  of  the  Federal  Government  may  properly  be  de- 
voted to  the  general  problems  of  interest  and  value  to  the  Nation  as  a 
whole,  thus  avoiding  the  costly  duplication  of  effort  and  funds  which  would 
result  if  each  of  a  number  of  States  were  to  take  up  such  investigations 
separately;  while  the  investigations  by  the  States  might  properly  cover 
all  local  problems  and  matters  requiring  State  legislative  supervision. 

As  a  further  single  illustration  showing  the  imperative  demand  for 
such  investigations,  we  need  only  recall  statements  presented  before 
this  Conference  that  of  the  200,000,000  tons  of  coal  used  for  power 
development  in  the  United  States  during  the  past  year  (including  that 
used  on  locomotives)  only  about  5%  of  the  heat,  or  the  equivalent  of 
10,000,000  tons  of  coal,  was  converted  into  actual  work.  And  of  the 
coal  used  in  electric  light  power  plants  not  more  than  one-fifth  of  1% 
was  actually  converted  into  light,  the  remaining  99  4/5%  of  the  heat 
being  consumed  in  warming  the  atmosphere  and  in  the  various  pre- 
liminary transformations  of  energy. 

(2)  Through  educational  work — The  information  obtained  from  all 
sources  should  be  carefully  digested  and  placed  before  the  People  of  the 
country  with  a  degree  of  impartiality  and  accuracy  that  will  command 
respect  and  confidence. 

Having  grown  up  in  the  luxu  y  of  the  world's  greatest  assemblage  of 
natural  wealth  and  having  developed  the  habit  of  waste,  the  re-education 
of  the  American  People  to  a  realization  of  the  need  for  this  conservation 
of  resources  which  they  have  been  taught  to  consider  as  "inexhaustible" 
is  no  small  undertaking,  but  it  can  be  accomplished.  And  unless  the 
present  generation  does  understand  that  these  resources  are  exhaustible, 
those  who  come  after  us,  and  for  whose  interests  we  are  the  responsible 
guardian,  will  but  inherit  the  unsatisfying  record  of  resources  already 
exhausted. 

(443) 
56254—09 31 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 

If  by  investigation  and  educational  work  the  People  can  be  shown 
how  they  can  mine  and  utilize  profitably  mineral  resources  with  increas- 
ingly less  waste,  the  victory  is  already  well-nigh  won.  Failing  in  this, 
we  must  find  some  way  of  increasing  the  price  of  the  product  sufficiently 
to  meet  this  increase  in  the  cost  of  the  less  wasteful  methods  of  mining 
and  treatment  or  use  of  these  resources. 

(3)  Through  legislation — If  from  time  to  time  individual  or  corporate 
interests  persist  in  the  pursuit  of  wasteful  methods  with  a  view  to  in- 
creased immediate  financial  return  and  regardless  of  the  rights  of  the 
future,  legislative  measures  in  the  various  States  may  prove  necessary. 
If  so,  the  data  obtained  through  these  investigations  will  serve  as  an 
intelligent  basis  for  such  legislation;  and  an  educated  public  opinion  will 
at  that  time  be  a  sufficient  guarantee  that  such  legislation  will  be  wisely 
framed,  enacted  and  enforced. 

In  the  mining  of  coal  and  some  other  minerals  present  prices  of  the 
product  must  be  increased  before  there  is  possible  that  higher  but  more 
costly  efficiency  in  practice  which  is  necessary  if  we  are  to  eliminate  the 
larger  part  of  the  enormous  existing  waste  referred  to  above.  And  legis- 
lation intended  to  prevent  this  waste  in  the  mining  and  utilization  of 
mineral  resources  must  also  permit  such  cooperation  among  those  en- 
gaged in  the  mining  industry  as  will  secure  the  increase  in  prices  of  prod- 
ucts necessary  to  cover  the  greater  cost  of  clean  mining. 

Let  us  understand  clearly  that  in  the  mineral  industry  there  are  two 
kinds  of  waste: 

(a)  That  which  is  unnecessary,  because  it  can  be  prevented  under  exist- 
ing commercial  conditions.  Such,  for  example,  is  the  turning  loose  in 
the  atmosphere  of  enormous  quantities  of  natural  gas.  Such  waste  is  a 
crime  against  the  Nation.  And  Indiana  is  the  one  State  which  has  pro- 
hibited such  waste  by  law.  Equally  criminal  are  the  wholesale  burning 
of  our  forests,  the  washing  away  of  our  soils,  and  other  items  which  I 
need  not  stop  to  mention.  All  such  waste  should  be  prevented  by  ade- 
quate legislation  in  each  of  the  States. 

(h)  The  waste  which  may  now  be  necessary  for  the  reason  that  under 
existing  commercial  conditions,  and  in  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge, 
it  can  not  be  prevented  without  entailing  continuous  financial  loss. 

In  cases  of  this  class  the  necessary  may  be  transferred  to  unnecessary 
waste  by  either  or  both  of  two  processes:  (a)  Investigations  may  indicate 
improved  processes  through  the  application  of  which  materials  may  be 
mined  or  extracted  or  used  more  efficiently  and  hence  with  less  waste, 
D  at  prevailing  prices;  or,  (b)  prices  of  the  commodity  may  be  in- 
creased sufficiently  to  render  practicable  this  more  efficient  mining  or 
treatment  or  use  even  in  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge;  or,  (c) 
pending  readjustment  under  one  or  both  of  these  situations  the  mining 

(444) 


Address  by  J.  A.  Holmes 


and  treatment  of  minerals  may  be  conducted  in  a  manner  that  will 
render  practicable  the  future  utilization  of  such  ores  or  minerals  or 
products  as  can  not  at  the  time  be  profitably  utilized  under  then  existing 
conditions. 

On  the  whole  there  will  be  little  occasion  to  appeal  to  legislation.  The 
remedy  for  existing  evils — and  such  evils  do  exist — must  lie  mainly  along 
the  lines  of  investigation,  educational  work,  and  the  development  of  in- 
telligent public  opinion. 

4.  By  organization. — This  movement  for  conservation  will  be  greatly 
facilitated  by  every  State  having  its  expert  to  look  after  and  investigate 
its  own  minerals,  soils,  forests,  water  resources,  and  its  agricultural  inter- 
ests, and  if  these  experts  can  be  constituted  a  State  Commission  on  con- 
servation of  resources.  The  movement  will  be  still  further  facilitated  if 
these  various  State  Commissions  will  cooperate  with  a  national  conser- 
vation commission  in  the  solution  of  the  general  phases  of  these  problems. 

Back  of  each  State  commission  and  of  the  National  commission  the 
Governors  of  the  several  States,  both  by  individual  and  joint  action  can 
exercise  a  most  powerful  influence  in  behalf  of  this  movement;  and  it  is 
certain  that  the  press,  the  universities,  and  other  great  educational 
agencies  of  the  country  can  be  counted  on  to  give  the  movement  their 
vigorous  and  undivided  support. 

The  question  raised  by  the  Governor  of  Indiana  as  to  how  we  may 
conserve  our  mineral  resources  is  still  far  removed  from  a  complete  answer. 
I  have  simply  endeavored  to  indicate  what  seemed  to  me  to  be  the  true 
basis  of  conservation,  and  the  lines  along  which  progress  may  be  made. 
The  problem  has  many  difficult  phases;  but  this  Conference  is  of  itself 
the  most  convincing  proof  that  the  solution  of  these  problems  deserves 
and  will  receive  the  earnest  consideration  of  the  highest  type  of  patriotic 
statesmanship  and  American  business  sense;  and  that  its  ultimate  solu- 
tion will  be  in  accord  with  and  in  recognition  of  the  rights  and  needs  of 
the  future  as  well  as  of  those  who  constitute  the  present  citizenship  of 
the  country. 


(445) 


INDEX 


Page 

Advisors,  Invitation  to  appoint x 

— ,  Listof xix 

— .  Status  of.  in  the  Conference 51.6° 

Agricultural    Department,     Tributes    to 

the - - --   177.184 

— ,  Work  of  the. 74.96 

Allison,     Chancellor;      The    immediate 
necessity  for  acquiring  the  Appalachian 

Forest  Reserve 376 

Angell,  President,  Address  by. --         59 

Ansel,  Governor,  appointed  on  Resolu- 
tions Committee *3 

Appalachian    Forest   Reserve,    Necessity 

for.. - - 121,376 

Appropriations    for    waterway    improve- 
ment  273.283 

Arizona,  Resources  of 346 

Atkinson,  John  B.,  Acknowledgment  to       217 
— ;  Forestry  as  related  to  mining  interests.        359 
Austin,  Charles  J.;  Necessity  for  water- 
way improvement 435 

Baker,  Bernard  M. ;  Resources  of  Mary- 
land  - --- 345 

Barnes,  Will  C,  Reading  of  paper  by..  141 
Beauty  and  habitability  of  the  land.  104. 153 .  4°8 

BemenT,  A.,  quoted  on  coal 354 

Billings,  J.  S.,  quoted  on  sanitary  laws.  253 

Black,  Frank  S.,  quoted  on  forestry 319 

Black,  William  H.;   Conservation  from 

the  viewpoint  of  recreation 37i 

— ,  Remarks  by 55 

Blanchard,     Governor,     appointed    on 

Resolutions  Committee 13 

— ,  Remarks  by,  on  program 60 

— , on  resolutions 49 

— , on  Proceedings 234 

— ,  Report  by  .- --- 192 

— ,  Statement  by -- -  194 

Brooks,  Governor,  Address  by -  161 

— ,  Remarks  by IOX 

— ;  Wyoming's  view  of  forests 333 

Broward,  Governor,  Message  from 34o 

Bryan,  William  Jennings,  Address  by.  14, 

39. 201 

— ,  Motion  by,  on  Proceedings 128 

— ,  Remarks  by 5° 

— ,  Resolution  by 234 

Buchtel,  Governor;  National  Efficiency.  332 

Burke,  Governor,  Address  by 188 

— ,  elected  Honorary  Secretary xn,  50 

Burnett,  E.  A.,  Address  by 184 

Burton,  Theodore  E.,  Work  of vi 

Cabinet,  Invitations  to  the XI 

— ,  Participation  of  the xix 


Page 

California,  Forests  of 137 

Canals,  decline  in  use  of --  in 

Cannon,  Speaker,  Acknowledgment  to..  187 

— ,  cited  on  forests 1 2° 

Carey,  Joseph  M.,  Address  by 146 

Carnegie,  Andrew;  The  conservation  of 

ores  and  related  minerals 14 

Cement,  Production  and  use  of 21,110 

Chamberlain,  Governor,  Aid  of,  in  plan- 
ning Conference vn 

Chamberlin,  T.  C;  Soil  wastage 75 

Chicago  Sanitary  and  Ship  Canal 356 

Clari fication  of  water  supply 238 

Clarke,  F.  W.,  cited  on  phosphates 428 

Cleveland,    Ex-President,    Acknowledg- 
ment to "9 

— ,  Invitation  to xn 

— ,  quoted  on  forestry 314 

— ,  Resolution  concerning 234 

Cleveland,  Treadwell,  cited  on  forests.  89 

Clinton,  Dewitt,  quoted  on  forestry 314 

Coal,  Extent  and  use  of 15.30,48,65.  158. 

166,  293,  329,  354,  359.  393.  422 

— ,  Waste  of 443 

Comer,  Governor,  Address  by 207 

Conference  Committee,  Appointment  of..  ix 

Congress,  Invitations  to  the xi 

Conservation  movement,  Origin  of  the v 

CoolEy,  Lyman  E.;  Our  water  resources.  349 

Copper,  Extent  and  use  of 19.  46 

Cortelyou,  Secretary,  Address  by 5  7 

Crothers,  Governor,  Message  from 345 

Cummins,  Governor,  Tribute  to -  343 

Cutler,  Governor,  address  by 163 

— ,  Aid  of,  in  planning  Conference vn 

— ,  Appointed  on  Resolutions  Committee.  13 

Davidson,  A.  B.,  Address  by 223 

Davidson,  Governor,  Address  by 124 

— ,  Appointed  on  Resolutions  Committee.  13 

— ,  Discussion  of  Declaration  by 199 

Dawson,  Governor,  Address  by 58 

Declaration *  92 

Deneen,  Governor;  Conservation  of  the 

natural  resources  of  Illinois --  3°9 

— ,  Presiding  Officer I28 

Dingley,  Nelson,  quoted  on  forests  and 

streams 366 

Drainage,  Importance  of 34° 

Dudley,  Charles  B.;  Use  of  some  of  the 

natural  resources  of  the  country  and 

possible  economies  in  their  use 421 

EarlE,  I.  M. ;  Resources  of  Iowa 3  43  ^ 

Eckel,  E.  C,  quoted  on  iron  depostis...  43 


(447) 


Proceedings  of  the  Conference  of  Governors 


Page 

Education,  Necessity  for - -       443 

Efficiency,  National 12, 332 

Electrification  of  railways 3°2 

Ellerbb.  Chris,  quoted  on  grazing 348 

Engineers,  Interests  of 404.  405.421 

England,  Water  traffic  of 277 

Erosion  and  its  prevention.- 79. 382.  395 

Evans  Powell  ,  Fire  prevention 43  7 

Experts,  Invitations  to — —  XI 

Fairbanks,  Vice-President,  Participation 

of - XIX 

Farming,  Conditions  of. ..  68,96.149.164.172, 
175. 184, 221, 224, 227,312,344.427 

Farms,  Deterioration  of 67,  79 

Fertilizer,  Production  and  use  of 341,427 

Fire  prevention 437 

Fisheries,     Protection    and    development 

of 214.310 

Floods,  Control  of 350.382,398 

Florida.  Resources  of -   340,341 

Flower.  W.  C„  quoted  on  forestry 317 

Folk,  Governor,  Address  by.. 1 5  7 

— ,  Discussion  of  Declaration  by 199 

— .  Remarks  by - 50,98,127 

— .Resolution  by 25 

Forest  conservation 83,  384,  390 

— ,  fires.  Prevention  of 103, 118,388,395 

— ,  products,  Extent  and  use  of 65, 

84,99. 103. 125. 137.  209,384 

Forestry  as  related  to  mining 359 

— ,  Development  of 117.346,362 

Forests  and  rainfall 85,  100 

—  and  streams.  Relations  of.  119, 145, 164, 172, 
205,  222,  314,  328,  350, 
364,  368,  377.  39i.  395 

— ,  Control  of - 333 

— ,  Destruction  of 119. 125 

— ,  Protection  of 159.  170, 180,314.327 

— ,  Public  interests  in 11 

— ,  State  and  National 320,333,346 

Fort.  Governor,  Address  by 102 

— ,  appointed  on  Resolutions  Committee.  13 

— ,  Remarks  by 128 

France.  Water  traffic  of 278 

Frbar.  Governor;  Conservation  in  Hawaii       334 

Pad  Resources,  Waste  of.. 26 

UUBK,   George   W.,    quoted   on   water 
supply - 257 

Garfield.  Secretary.  Address  by 179 

.  Waste  of 26 

•  U  rmany,  Water  traffic  of 278 

.1.1. TT.   Governor,   Aid   of,   in    planning 

Conference. vn 

Qsuurrn,  Bdwabd;   Suggestions  on  the 

I       nun  of  tome  of  our  resources.        394 

I .!.;  t.  Addri    ■  by   -       119 

— .  Discussion  of  I),  duration  by 196 

— .  k'  .ohitiou  by   .  -.         25 

M.  gjrtenl   "i  1  weof  ...   19.45.54 

rv ation   in  nl  1 

aontolaba   


Page 
Goodell,  Edwin  B.,  Digest  of    sanitary 

laws  by - 256.  260 

Gooding,  Governor,  Address  by 168 

Goss,  W.  F.  M„  cited  on  coal  consump- 
tion  407 

Goudy,  Frank  C.,  Announcements  by  -  -   51,206 

Governors  and  their  Advisors xix 

—  in  attendance. -- xxxvn 

Grazing  on  public  lands 141.  165, 180,346 

Green,    Andrew    H.,    Acknowledgment 

to 322 

Growth  of  trees 360 

Guano,  Preservation  of 428 

Guests,  general xxx 

— ,  special xxv 

Hadley,  Arthur  T.,  Address  by 117 

Hale,  Edward  Everett.  Invocation  by.  1 

Hammond,  John  Hays,  Address  by 52 

— ;  Conservation  of  minerals 405 

Hanly,  Governor,  Address  by -  215 

— ,  Motion  by 62 

Harris,   Governor;  Conservation  of  hu- 
man life 33o 

Harvey,  William  S.,  Address  by 186 

— ,  Remarks  by I24 

Hawaii,  Conservation  in 334 

Hay,  Extent  and  value  of 435 

Hazen,  Allen,  cited  on  water  purifica- 
tion  --- 253 

Health,  Conservation  of 23  7 

Heard,  D wight  B.;  The  grazing  lands 

and  National  Forests  of  Arizona 346 

Hill,  David  B.,  quoted  on  forestry 315 

Hill,  James  J. ;  The  natural  wealth  of  the 

land  and  its  conservation 63 

— ,  cited  on  transportation 104 

Hilgard,  E.  W.,  cited  on  soils 83 

Hoch,  Governor,  Address  by 218 

— ,  Remarks  by,  on  proceedings 235 

— , program 60 

Holland,  C.  S.  E.,  Remarks  by 222 

Holmes,  Mr  Justice,    Opinion    delivered 

by.. 12 

Holmes,  J.  A.;  How  conservation  of  min- 
eral resources  can  be  accomplished 

Hughes,  Governor;  Conservation  of  nat- 
ural resources  in  the  State  of  New  York. 
— ,  Tribute  to --- 


Illinois,  Conservation  of  resources  in 


439 

314 
418 

309 


— ,  Waterways  of 353 

Indiana,  Protection  of  gas  in 29 

Inland  Waterways  Commission.  Appoint- 
ment and  continuation  of 10 

— ,  Endorsement  of --    10,  42,  124,  161 

— ,  Participation  of -      xxxi 

—.Tribute  to 3  29.375 

— ,  Work  of V.437 

Insurance,  Cost  of 439 

Interdependence  of  States -        123 

Investigation,  Necessity  for 442 

Iowa,  Resources  of 343 

Iron,  Extent  and  use  of 15,43,66.166,422 


(448) 


Index 


Page 

Irrigation,  Benefits  of 149 

— ,  Dependence  of,  on  forests 164 

— ,  Extent  of - 169 

— ,  Resources  related  to 129 

Jambs,  Edmund  J.,  Address  by 173 

Jastro,    H.   A.;     Grazing   on   the   public 

lands 141 

Johnson,    Emory    R.;     Navigation    re- 
sources of  American  waterways 272 

Johnson,  Governor,  Address  by 40 

— ,  Motion  by,  for  Resolutions  Committee  13 

— ,  Presiding  Officer 14.63 

— ,  Remarks  by,  on  resolutions 51 

Jones,  W.  Goodrich,  Address  by 190 

Kentucky,  Resources  of 359 

Kibbey,    Governor,   Aid  of,    in   planning 

Conference vn 

King,  F.  H.,  cited  on  soils 83 

Kober,  George  M.;   Conservation  of  life 

and  health  by  improved  water  supply.  237 

Kummel,  Henry  B.;   Water  resources _  .  372 
Kunz,  George  F. ;    The  preservation  of 

scenic  beauty 408 

Labor,  Interests  of 398 

Lakes-to-Gulf  Waterway  — 352 

La  Lanne,  Frank  D.,  Remarks  by 123 

Lamb,  Frank  H.:  What  Washington  as  a 
State  has  done  and  can  do  for  forest 

conservation 384 

Lamb,  John,  cited  on  forests 88 

Land  resources xm 

Land,  Extent  and  use  of 67,  164 

— ,  Resources  of  the 63,  141,  185 

— ,  Wastes  of 424,428 

Laws  regarding  sanitation 260 

Lead,  Extent  and  use  of 45 

Leal,  J.  L.,  cited  on  sanitary  laws 256 

Leighton,  M.  O.,  cited  on  water  power.-       294 

— ,  cited  on  water  supply 244 

Leith,  C.  K.,  quoted  on  iron  deposits —  43 

Letchworth,    W.    P.,    Acknowledgment 

to.. 322,418 

Life,  Conservation  of 233,  237,  330 

— ,  Saving  of,  in  mining 39,  216,  362 

Long,  R.  A. ;  Forest  conservation 83 

— ,  Remarks  by 128 

Longley,  F.  F.,  cited  on  water  supply —       240 

Louden,  William,  Address  by 226 

Low,  Seth;  The  twilight  zone 434 

MacaulEY,  Lord,  quoted  on  wastes 73 

Macfarland,  Commissioner;   Interests  of 

the  National  Capital 339 

McFarland,  J.  Horace,  Address  by 153 

McGee,  W  J,  Work  of vi.xii,  13 

— ,  cited  on  soil  erosion 83 

McIntosh,  William:    Railways  and  con- 
servation        4°7 

Maine,  Forests  of 362 

Maine  Supreme  Court,  Decision  of 1 1 ,  364 

Manchester  Ship  Canal 289 

Manufacturer,  Interests  of  the 423 


Page 

Manufactures,  Increase  of 106 

Maryland,  Resources  of 345 

Maxwell.  Hu;  Forest  conservation 390 

Mead,  Governor,  Address  by 213 

— ,  Aid  of,  in  planning  Conference vn 

— ,  Remarks  on  Proceedings 234 

Mead,    Elwood,    cited    on    forests    and 

streams 145 

M errill,  G.  P.,  cited  on  soils 83 

Michigan,  Resources  of 331 

Miles,  George  F.;  Florida's  Waterways.  341 

Mineral  resources xm 

,  Conservation  of 405,  439 

Mining  as  related  to  forestry 359 

Mitchell,  John,  Address  by 37 

Monopoly,  Prevention  of 399 

Moorhead,  F.  G.,  cited  on  water  power.  294 

Morgan,  J.  P.,  Acknowledgment  to 411 

Morton,  Levi  P.,  quoted  on  forestry 319 

Mosquito,  Eradication  of  the 3  73 

Navigation,  Conditions  of 1 33 . 1 5  9 

— ,  Dependence  of,  on  forests.    120,368,377,392 

—  of  American  waterways 272 

— ,  relation  of,  to  agriculture 24,80 

— , forests.. 85,  104 

Newell,  F.  H.,  Work  of vi 

— ,  Remarks  by 127 

Newlands,  Francis  G.,  Work  of vi 

New  Jersey  Court  of  Errors  and  Appeals, 

Decision  of 12 

— ,  Forestry  in 102 

— ,  Water  resources  of 372 

New  York,  Conservation  in 314 

— ,  Forests  of 99 

Nitrogen,  Extraction  of 98 

Noel,   Governor,   Discussion  of  Declara- 
tion by 200 

— ,  Motions  by 13,  128 

— ,  Presiding  Officer 14.25 

Norris,  Governor,  Address  by 172 

Organizations,  Invitations  to X 

— ,  Representatives  of xxv 

Osborn,  Chase  S.,  Remarks  by 59.  161 

— ;  The  conservation  problem 367 

Pardee,  George  C. ;  Resources  related  to 

irrigation 129 

Parker,  E.  W.,  cited  on  coal  supply 293 

Parks,  Creation  of 320.415.417 

Patriotism,  Sources  of 344.3/6,  401,  416 

Paul,  James  W. ;  Suggestions  on  the  con- 
servation of  coal 393 

Pennsylvania,  Conservation  in 327 

Phosphates,  Production  of 340,429 

Pinchot,  Gifford,  Work  of y1 

— ,  Acknowledgement  to 10,  174 

— .Tributes  to -   186,348 

Plans  for  conservation 357. 

370.373.394.420,422.425,436.439 

Population,  increase  of 72 

Potomac  river.  Water  supply  from 239 

Power,  Extent  and  use  of 292,404 


(449) 


Index 


Page 

Waterways,  public  interest  in.. n 

West  Virginia,  Forests  of 390 

Weston,  R.  S.,  cited  on  water  supply 239 

Whipple,  Gkorgb  C,  cited  on  typhoid..  246 

Whipple,  James  S.,  Address  by 99 

White,  I.  C,  quoted  on  coal 393 

— ;  The  waste  of  our  fuel  resources 26 

Wilbur,  C.  L.,  Acknowledgment  to 244 

Wilcox,  Walter   P.,   quoted  on  water 

supply 255 

Willis,  Bailey,  quoted  on  China 26 


Page 

Willson,  Governor,  Address  by 216 

Wilson,  Secretary,  Address  by 96 

—.Tributes  to 184.186 

Wisconsin,  Forests  of I2S 

Woodruff,  Governor,  Remarks  by 1 1 7 

Wyoming,  Resources  of 148,333 


Yale  Forest  School. 


Zinc,  Extent  and  use  of 

Zone,  The  Twilight 202,  212 


117 

45 
434 


o 


/     I. 


:,\R  24  1910 


56254-09 32 


(451) 


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